homecoming.

Stephen Artemis ran, his feet thumping on the ground underneath him. The cool midnight breeze cooling off his warm, rosy cheeks.

“Have fun trying to get back home in time to stop us from restoring our one true advantage.” 

The portal was just two feet away from him; he willed it to work with every cell in his body.

“Magic is indestructible, we could fight the humans back with it. But the cost is much too great.”

He knew it wouldn’t work, but that didn’t stop him from trying, despite the fact he had to run into a tree trunk at every attempt.

He knew the voices in his head were right. Stephen wasn’t going crazy, though he didn’t doubt there would soon be a point where that would no longer be true.

The first voice belonged to the flashback of the last time he had seen Hunter Antilia, along with his brother Dylan. The former had always had a thing for cryptic deliveries. If Stephen ever had him at his mercy, he’d ask him to please speak like a normal human being, because going around the point made him in all honesty pathetic.

The last one was the voice that kept him up all night, his dear friend Carter Trench… Oh, how he wished he’d been able to save her before the brothers had taken her though the portal, leaving him trapped on Earth, her fate to be decided in Dead Sparrow, the cruel war zone they hadn’t been in in a decade.

Stephen whipped his bloody nose with his arm, before banging his forehead against the tree in frustration. He let out a groan of utter defeat.

It had been weeks since this disaster had occurred. Anything could’ve happened in between then and now. Carter could be dead, the Antilias could have helped their fellow Sparrowans win the war against the humans, it could also be vice versa, Carter’s mother was a general so he didn’t doubt it.

All in all, Stephen had no way of knowing, his connection with his handler had been lost, along with the use of the portal. In a way, that was a good thing since no more humans could enter.

Sighing, he removed himself from the tree, wiping at his nose again, and started to head back home.

He might as well start settling down, maybe he should put that college scholarship to use, sit tight and wait for someone to come get him, but still live his life. Stephen felt like it might be a betrayal to his family, to Carter, but it was about to be a month since the decommissioning of the portal, and was tired of waiting and the injuries weren’t worth it anymore.

Taking out the first aid-kit from a drawer in the kitchen and sitting down at the table he had once shared with the runaways, he started tending to his face. The routine was all too familiar for him, and that’s what finally made him make his decision. Stephen Artemis was staying here. He would go study, he would make this house his own, he would get the dog Dylan always prohibited him to get (due to allergies), and he would try and forget about Dead Sparrow-- about his former home. This was it now. 

Instead of his carriage, he would now keep Hunter’s car, instead of having the palace cook make his meals he’d have to pick up the skill Carter had begged to show him so many times. Instead of training to be a successor to either one of his parents’ titles he would have to study for a job thousands of other people already had somewhere else… 

He was giving us a lot tonight with this choice, he knew it. But if there’s something he’d always been, it was impatient. Something inside him would always be waiting for Carter, one of the brothers, hell, even Mara, his handler, to come knocking at his door. Whoever or whenever it’d be, he’d be waiting.

Carter had tried waiting. But there was no use, she knew that. She herself had schooled the boys she’d lived with about magic; and two of the three had ignored her warnings.

She wasn’t the oldest out of them, so she wasn’t surprised. She was in fact the second youngest, but her title ranked the second of most importance-- third now that she was the prisoner of the restarted rebellion against the opposition of magic. The magic they’d brought back.

What she found most unsettling about this whole situation was that they kept her in a castle bedroom fit for a princess and not the jail cell that she knew was here. Second to that, Carter hated that she’d so easily let her guard down. She should have obeyed her parents’ yields. 

“Stay away from the Antilias. They’ve proven who they are, not good for us.” her father had told her quietly at a ball both families had been attending.

“They’re bad news, sweetie. If there’s anything you need to trust me most on, it’s this. It’s for your own good.” her mother, who had one been best friends with their mother, said that. That should have told her everything. But her stupid teenage self had to do the opposite of everything she was told. She’d let Hunter right in, letting him worm his way in with his sweet words and fake shows of vulnerability. Dylan hadn’t even tried, but she had still been kind to him, seeing as they were the youngest in the house.

Carter felt so stupid. And even more so when she hoped that either brother would tear through the door right now, tell her this was a joke, or tell her what was going on, why was she here?

And despite thinking that so many times, it had never happened, but it did now. Shandace Wilson entered first, carrying her food. She had once been her friend, many years ago. Who knew she couldn’t be trusted either.

Then Hunter came. Oh, how she had to resist the urge to beat the hell out of him.

As soon as Shandace left, Carter barreled towards him, he stopped her half way, one hand on her shoulder, almost her collarbone, being enough.

“Careful now. You might hurt yourself.” he gestured to the armour he was wearing. It looked so similar to the one her mother had worn so long ago, when the war had just begun. She scoffed at the misplaced nostalgia.

“Wouldn’t you like that. Why am I here?” she challenged, fixing him with her hardest glare.

Hunter huffed in amusement, shaking his head slightly. “Your blood is needed for something we need to retrieve.”

Her blood ran cold, “You’re going to kill me?”

“If you won’t give some willingly.”

Carter glanced down at the hand still on her shoulder. “You don’t have to do this…”

“There is no other way to win--”

“Yes there is! Diplomacy is always an option!”

He scoffed, “Like your mother? This is the same war, my mother had to teach her to fight, if she hadn’t you wouldn’t be here.”

Tears threatened her eyes, “I don’t want to do this, you know how I feel about magic! And you’re right about me being the daughter of the Diplomatic Sword, I’ll always turn to the way I was raised before resulting to violence.”

“So you were going to attack me for what?” he sneered.

“You betrayed me and my trust! You and Dylan kidnapped me, and now I have to hurt myself to help you! Are you really still asking yourself this?”

Hunter lowered his head down to her level, eyes meeting hers directly, breath fanning over her face. “Do you really think I want to do this? We were sent to hide on earth by our parents because the Council wanted to preserve their most powerful bloodlines, and meanwhile everyone else gets slaughtered here? There is only one way we are going to win, Carter, it’s staring at us in the face. All we need is the blood of a Trench to obtain it all.”

His hazel eyes were full of determination, they were warm, alive again. Either he was really good at acting, or he meant every word he said. But Carter still couldn’t cave, and she still couldn’t believe the ugly truth.

“My mother abolished magic. Why don’t you use her blood?”

Hunter cast his gaze downward, “No one’s really seen her recently. It’s up to you, I mean it.” 

Carter frowned, it almost looked like a pout at this point, but she meant it all. “No. As much as I can see the reason behind this, I will not betray my mother’s wishes. There’s a price. I don’t want to pay it,” she let her hand rise to touch his cheek, “I don’t want you to pay it either… Neither of you.”

Hunter sighed, lids fluttering. After a moment, he drew back to his full height, letting her hand fall away and removing his own from her shoulder.

“I’ll let Dylan know your answer. Maybe he’ll reconsider the death for an injury instead.” he titled his head in farewell and left her alone again.

Carter exhaled heavily, rubbing her eyes before heading over to eat. What was curious about this meal is that in her bread was a poorly buried skeleton key.

Whether it was Shandace or Hunter that awarded her with her escape, it didn’t matter. She was finally free and that’s all that mattered to her.

SEVEN YEARS LATER…

Stephen Artemis sat in his classroom, his student, now recently discovered nephew, Cleary Wilson (in Dead Sparrow, Cleric Artemis), sitting in front of him with his best friend Prince Alexander Lamar, his earthly surname Madden quickly discarded. Both mythic-men (the title for half human and half Sparrowans) telling him of their adventures in Dead Sparrow; of how they reopened the portal without magic, ended the war and reunited with their long lost families… Of how they completed his mission.

“And that’s when her dragon fire melted the suppressor on the portal, and then we could come back.” Cleary explained.

“Don’t forget the party! Everyone was celebrating us, as they should. Sparrowans are so cool.” Alex mused, always forgetting the fact he was a royal and that should be what fazes him.

“Did you meet any important people?” Stephen inquired, his stomach fluttering with nerves. This was it, he’d finally be ready to accept his guilt or diminish it.

“Oh, yeah, like tons! Is there someone in particular you have in mind?” his nephew asked.

“Yes… Carter Trench. Is she still around?” he heart sped up, he swore he was sweating too.

“Hah, sorry, man. She’s totally taken! She’s Carter Antilia now, has kids and everything!” the prince replied, a laugh escaping him.

Stephen’s mouth dropped in shock. Tears spilled out of his eyes, tears of joy. She was alive… She was okay. She was happy, he assumed. But just to make sure;

“Which Antilia?”

Cleary replied this time, “Hunter, I think? I mean he’s the only one, his dad is also married.”

Dylan died. Stephen wasn’t surprised, he always had it coming. He didn’t hate Dylan, but there had always been that dark fate awaiting him. And Hunter… ever since that night Carter was taken, he was sure there was hope for him. His best friend always had a way with hearts. He didn’t know, however, that her stupid crush would actually evolve this far.

“Uncle Stephen?” Cleary snapped him out of his thoughts, handing him a tissue, which he accepted with a smile.

“She asked about you too. She wants you to come visit her.”

Stephen let out a harsh sounding laugh, but it wasn’t rude, it was tired. “Oh, Cleary. I can’t go back to Dead Sparrow… not anymore. I know my handler died, so I won’t be disciplined, but I don’t feel the need to return. I just want you to give this to her, please.” He reached into a drawer in his desk, and pulled out a letter. It looked a little rough, just like him, but you couldn’t let the outside fool you.

“We will.”

THREE YEARS AGO…

He finally graduated. Stephen hadn’t expected himself to want to be a teacher, but it reminded him of home. The home of which he was now finally going to cut himself off of. Sitting at the kitchen table he’d sat so many nights at, he stared at a piece of paper, pencil in hand.

“Here goes nothing.” he muttered, before he began to write.

Dear Carter,

I don’t know if you’ll ever read this letter or if you even remember me, but I wouldn’t care less, cause I still remember you.

Dylan’s body fell to the floor, Carter roughly pulling out his own sword from his body. Shadance gasped from behind her.

Hunter raised his brows, “Killing him with his own sword, Stephen would be proud.” Carter beamed at the mention of her oldest friend.

I want to apologize for letting Hunter and Dylan take you so easily, and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about your blood being the key to all the magic of the land. That day when you asked me why you lived in the palace and were under so much guard, I could’ve told you, but you were so young, I couldn’t afford to scare you like that. But maybe it would’ve protected you, made you cautious of powerful men.

“You know one thing I’ve done he wouldn’t be proud of?” she asked her oldest enemy, her newest friend. He hummed in inquiry, and later in surprise when she met his lips with a kiss.

Knowing you, an equally powerful woman, however, you probably got out of the situation. Despite that, I still feel guilty that I did nothing to prevent you from being put into this position. I became so absorbed in my mission that I was a bad friend to you, and I am so very sorry. If I’m being honest with you, I’ve always had feelings for you, but that’s always been obvious. 

Hunter rested his forehead against hers. “Aren't you with Artemis?”

Carter chuckled, “Never was, never will.”

“In that case,” he pulled out his sword and handed it to her, she broke out in a grin, accepting it, and handing him hers.

It’s probably what’s mostly fueling my guilt, the thought of not seeing you again. But it’s for the best, you’ve probably already settled down with some royal or non-celebic knight. Either way I’m proud of you, Carter. And I love you too, whoever you’ve become, I know that I am sure that that will never change.

“Not to break the moment-- congrats on your engagement, by the way-- but we have a debriefing to attend to. Also, my water just broke, but that’s besides the point.”

Carter and Hunter turned to Shandace quickly and got ready for whatever was to come in the next seconds… together.

 It hurts to know this is my goodbye to you, to Dead Sparrow, but it’s for the best.

I am now finally open to those cooking lessons,

Steph