Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Of Restlessness

Toffee was quite the valuable commodity in Jericho. Making it was a slow process, using the sweet syrup of powerful palm trees and constantly stirring the pot for hours on end, so it was something very few people knew how to properly do and even less people did for free! Candy in general was expensive and hard to come by, so when Gabrielle returned to the sleeping chambers with not one, but two handfuls of sticky, delicious brown gold? The girls were ecstatic. 

 

Of course there was a bit of hesitation about taking candy from the hands of a Witch, but in this case the reward simply outdid any reservations from the hungry children, each taking a piece and simply letting it melt in their mouths.

 

Even Gabi herself managed to snatch a piece for herself, despite some arguments about this being (supposedly) a test of her character and, because of that, she shouldn’t get any sort of prize beyond the “forgiveness of the people”. But candy had a tendency to make people giggly and ditzy, so everyone simply forgot about that detail in the celebration.

 

Samantha was so happy to just see Gabrielle return on her own! Relieved beyond all measure, because the moment she noticed the old Father returning through the hallways, she really thought it was all lost.

 

In fact, she felt quite guilty about not doing much to stop the man, at least not much beyond—

 

“Samantha, were you meowing out there? Why?”

 

Flushing almost instantly and grumbling quite a bit, the blonde simply refused to speak much of the matter, crossing her arms and letting out a loud huff. She didn’t have any other ideas beyond trying to distract the man with loud noises, but apparently Father Enrico didn’t care much for cats!

 

After everyone had received their piece of the loot, Samantha took the word once again and stared at Kimberly right in the eye. This, of course, prompted Amber’s protective side, and she was quite ready to deck the disrespectful blonde right in the face, but Kimmy stopped her. There was no need for that.

 

“There you go!” Said the blonde. “She proved herself already. Can you just take my word? She’s nice!”

 

Kimberly closed her eyes and grumbled some more, just hearing the other girls whisper to each other. Of course there were some that still had their doubts, but the vast majority seemed to be convinced by the results… and yet, Kimmy did not feel convinced in the slightest. But what choice did she have, now?

 

Well, it’s not like she had to like her.

 

“Fine.” Kimmy finally said with a sigh. “Girls, no more picking on this Witch… at least for now. But I am warning you, Witch. I have you right in my eye! If you do anything weird, I won’t have mercy!”

 

“And by that, she means I won't have any mercy!” Amber jumped in with a smug grin, cracking her knuckles. “So yeah, do something weird! I dare you!”

 

Gabrielle took another deep breath, feeling so light on her shoulders all of a sudden. A part of her felt that this was certainly not enough, another was absolutely unconvinced by Kimmy’s promise, and yet, the rest of her was willing to accept this if it meant some more rest. 

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That night, after so many emotions, Gabi went to sleep with a warmth growing on her chest. Between this and her findings, she had so much to tell Baraqiel! She simply couldn’t wait for tomorrow…

 

—

 

The next morning passed as calmly as it could. The Father was once again present at the table, but he made no comment whatsoever before taking his meal back to his room. 

 

Gabrielle sat down at the big table and people did not immediately move away, breakfast was gruel and a mug of watered-down tea. No attacks, no pranks, no disgusting comments whatsoever: Gabi was being “politely ignored” as some people put it, and despite this being a dream come true to her, the little girl could not enjoy it at all.

 

The feeling of something being amiss was… a bit overwhelming, to be honest. She couldn’t even enjoy the “delicious food” at all, for the girl was way too busy waiting for something to go wrong. Samantha had reassured her last night, and even now she could see the blond girl flashing her some smiles from time to time, and yet that feeling of being in danger simply did not disappear.

 

Why am I still so afraid…?

 

Gabi stopped eating eventually, leaving her plate half full for the first time in a very long time, and just stared at her reflection on the mug of tea. What was it that bothered her now? And why couldn’t she simply accept that things would be better? That feeling of restlessness soon became a growing nuisance, and then a burning annoyance not towards the girls that now simply let her be, but towards herself.

 

There was nothing to fear anymore, at least not for a while! Why was she still shaking and waiting for something bad to happen? To be ready when it does happen, answered a side of Gabrielle’s mind. When they get right back to hurting and insulting you, you must be ready.

 

But what if it never happened? What if this lasted longer than they thought?

 

It won’t, said that side of herself, peace never lasts and this won't be different.

 

She wanted to yell at herself, to tell that voice to shut up and simply admit that things were going to be fine now— but she had no proof! No way or rebuttal, just a long history of betrayal after betrayal.

 

As soon as the Sisters announced the end of breakfast, Gabrielle simply got up and quickly left the room, just needing a moment to put all of her thoughts in order. The other girls stared for a moment, before going back to their own business as usual. Samantha felt so tempted to go after but, something inside was telling her that the redhead just needed a moment on her own.

 

Gabi broke into a sprint as soon as she was out of the kitchen, going to the forest in such a hurry! Little did she know, as she exited the Chapel, that a tired pair of eyes had been following her since very early that day…

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