47 Aftermath (2/2)

Before Will had a chance to say anything, Maya stepped in front of him. ”Who are you kidding here?” she said as she allowed her darkness to come forth, the outline tinted gold. ”If it wasn't me, it would have been someone else!” she shouted into the crimson inferno. ”Why did you even come here?”

Maya looked out from the familiar flame to Will. ”I came here for Will, to bring him back home.” her eyes shown with tears as she looked into his. ”Don't you miss your life? Jonathan is waiting at your house for you to come home. Have you already forgotten him?” with every question, she took a step forward, as if trying to bring reason closer to him. ”What about school? I thought you wanted to go to college and stop moving around so much? Your uncle is in New York, we could move there and you could have a pick of any school you want.” her eyes grew brighter with every word that came from her lips. ”Think about it Will, you could have a normal life with me in New York. You don't have to fight so hard for this place. It's not your home, let's just get out of here.” her eyes were pleading now, begging her boyfriend to come back.

Will looked heartbroken. Bianca could almost see the thoughts forming in his head, as if she had somehow brought them to the surface herself.

He had almost started to take a step forward before he heard Maya's soft voice whisper. ”What about us?” his foot stilled before it could lift. ”Will saved me from a life of prostitution. The very flame you wield is the one he used to bring justice to those pigs.” her eyes were that of shadows. ”Would you bring ruin to so many generations of women and children just because you want your boyfriend to come home with you?” she took a step forward, her darkness shadowed Bianca's crimson light.

”Look around you and imagine living here Bianca.” Maya said as she held her hand out to the burnt fields they stood in. ”Can you even imagine the work these families had to put in to even grow these crops?” her calm voice picked up slightly and her voice broke from emotion. ”None of these crops even belong to the villagers. It all belongs to Ebonhart to pay taxes. They get pennies from giving these goods to the knights barracks. Half of the kids here wouldn't have survived winter were it not for Will. If he leaves and nothing changes, none of them will survive. They will be sold as slaves to pay off their debt.”

Bianca shook her head. ”I don't care.” Will looked at her, shocked. ”Let someone else do it. Slap his father awake and teach him how to rule again but you can't have him.”

”And what about after my father's rule ends Bianca?” Will had enough of hearing her tantrum. ”There needs to be a Prince to take a King's place. Are they supposed to just have a few years of peace before all hell breaks loose?” he sighed. It wasn't as if he hadn't thought about going back, but he was needed in Crystallia whether he liked it or not. ”What happened to you Bianca? You weren't always like this.”

Bianca stared at Will, and he could almost visibly see her heart breaking. ”Ever since we helped Jake, nothing has been right.” she suppressed a sob. ”What do you owe these people? How do you know they won't just hurt you after you give them all you can?” she knew how far Will would go to help even a stranger that he owed nothing to. ”When will it end?”

”I'm a prince. Its my job to give to the people, maybe I've always known that. I will give everything in my life to them so long as it keeps them off the streets. I wasn't just born for myself Bianca. To ignore them would be to ignore myself. This is my life.” he said as he looked around at Ember and the now empty area around the archway. He silently counted his blessings that Leo had kept moving them through despite the entertaining spectacle going on in front of them.

”I'll make it easy for you to choose Will.” Bianca said as she pointed at the archway. ”Go home with me right now and we can start our life together.” she looked over at Maya. ”Or go with her and never see me again. I will go through this portal and head back to Minnesota, you never have to hear from me again.” she didn't hesitate to turn from Will and start walking slowly to the portal.

Will was lost in thought. He didn't know how exactly to stop this from happening. All of the good times they had when growing up hit him all at once. The houses they broke into with Leo, the times at java joint, doing homework at the field in the back of his house. As she walked away, he saw them sitting on the half finished library on a starlit night looking down at the residents below. He thought of every plan they had ever made. He tried to make his lips move to stop her, but he couldn't speak.

The flames around Bianca started to extinguish as she made her way closer to the archway. With every step, the intensity began to wither. By the time she was a foot away from leaving, they were completely out.

Bianca looked down at her now normal hands and looked back at Will. A surprised look dawned her features. ”What did you do?” she asked in a small voice as she tried to summon a flame.

A small tear went down Will's cheek as he stared out to the symbol of his past. ”The flame was a manifestation of your support to me and the kingdom.” He said as he looked into her eyes, his own were somewhat glazed over with the emotions he felt. ”You vowed to be my shield, to support me, that's why you had your abilities. By walking from me, you no longer need your abilities. Go and enjoy your normal life, and remember I love you.”

Bianca stared up at Will for a moment, tears forming within her eyes before she turned and left through the portal.