Holding On And Letting Go PV Aida finished

Ileen's heart leapt when the broom with the two girls shot up into the sky. She felt like she had left her stomach behind, but unlike most people, the Slytherin didn't feel uncomfortable, no, on the contrary. She loved it. It felt like she had left her worries behind as well, as they shot off into the dark sky. And with her white knight sister she felt safe.
Her arms wrapped tightly around Aida, her breath caught as the wind whipped her face and she closed her eyes as a liberated smile appeared on her lips.
But Aida was not done yet - she performed crazy tricks in the air and Ileen felt the adrenaline rush through her body, but in a good way. The Ravenclaw seemed to pay attention to how Ileen was feeling and warned her about dangerous maneuvers, so she felt safe and sound. Even more: She felt as free as a bird. That was exactly what she needed. Her worries slipped away, just not able to keep the pace the two girls had flying through the night.

As Aida straightened the broomstick and the two floated through the air, Ileen peered over her friend's shoulder. Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened as she saw Hogwarts with thousands of twinkling lights before her. Beautiful, like something out of a dream. Deep peace spread through her and a soft, relieved sigh escaped.
This was her last piece of the puzzle. It had always helped her to see things from above, to understand them. This was her home. This was her home. This was the family she had chosen. Here were people who would miss her and on whom she could rely.

As Aida spoke, Ileen hugged her tighter. She knew exactly what the pale witch meant. Above all the things, away from the earthly things, one was able to see the world in all its clarity. The higher focus enabled her to look at the problems from the outside and literally get an overview. "I think I know what you mean. I feel the same way. You can see everything a lot more clearly." She squeezed Aida gently and you could hear in her voice that she was smiling. "Thank you for taking me with you. It means the world to me." And that was true. Ileen had searched for this experience since her first day here and Aida had finally gifted her with it.

@Aida Mòrsgor-Ama Ellwood

Aida could feel the peace and clarity emanating from Ileen’s voice. Ileen understood. Aida had succeeded in giving Ileen what she wanted – even for a moment – that feeling greater than serenity, more transcendent than control, and more radiant than a piece of gold. Aida was happy. She finally was able to get what she wanted.

When they both had settled in for a while Aida pointed the broom down and took them in for a landing, but not at the old oak where they had started. Though, Aida smiled at the thought that the oak’s magic was working. Everything was going exactly as it should after they had touched its scaley bark. Lighting gently on the ground, Aida and Ileen dismounted the broom. The young white mage laid it then against another tree, the broom handle's quicksilver polish glistening as it moved. This tree was quite a bit more gnarled than even the old oak, and its branches were barren of leaves. Overhead a long branch hung in the air, and hanging from it a battered rudimentary swing shifted slightly in the breeze.

The swing’s wooden plank was broad, weathered, and whitewashed as if it had seen many years under the sky. Aida brushed off the plank to make sure it was clean and cocked her head as she looked back at Ileen.

“This is the swing I made. I come here to think, and have been coming here since before I had magic or knew how to use a broom to fly. This is where I first met Dee. Actually, this place will always be sacred because it was here that I was given magic. I fell asleep in the grass and met the Undead King. He helped me understand what I can do to make up for the bad things I’ve done in my life, and how I can justify my future. When I woke up, I had the power of magic: his blessing,” whispered Aida, recounting her dream of the Undead King. “For me, that was the moment I became like… a knight. A knight for the Undead King, who wants me to help others. I want to help others to not… suffer… like those I have seen before.” Aida’s heart ached at the memory of Manticore, but her voice did not waver. “I’m sure that he gave me the power of magic to help others. I’m trying to get better at it...” sighed Aida, realizing that she was beginning to rant.

“I had to show this to you: the place where I became a knight.”

Aida then took one of the ropes suspending the swing and stood alongside it as if to invite Ileen to sit on the swing and be pushed by Aida’s thin white hands.

@Ileen Knight
Permission to godmod dismounting the broom was granted.

Ileen enjoyed the ride with Aida. It was just what she needed that moment. The wind playing with her hair, the ground far beneath her, the girl she had wrapped her arms around - all of this made her feel whole. Like this, they were traveling through the night and through history, only stars as their witnesses. Knights of the night.

When she felt the soft grass underneath her feet, Ileen felt like a different person. As Aida apparently did a few years ago. Looking around to take in the scene, the young Slytherin carefully listened to every word Aida said. She didn’t doubt that it was true. Not one second. It sounded like a fairy tale, but with her pale friend, everything felt like one. The white witch was traveling between the worlds and as long it was true to her, it was true to Ileen, too.

With a soft smile, she sat down next to Aida, leaned her head against the rope and looked back at her friend, the stars reflecting in her dark brown eyes. ”Well, the Undead King did choose wisely. He couldn’t have picked a braver and more worthy warrior.” Though she didn’t understand everything Aida had said, this was something she was sure about.
She dug her heels into the ground and began to swing the swing back and forth with the two girls. It gave her a bit of the feeling of lightness that she also felt when flying.
After a moment of silence, she tilted her head and a small smile curled her lips. “Thank you for showing me these special places. I really appreciate the trust you put into me.”

She bit her lower lip, the smile slowly sliding from her face as she thought about the reason why she had ran outside in the first place. It still did hurt, but now, it didn’t feel so unresolvable anymore. She had her family here. Aida. Dee. Erik. And here was her home now. In this very second, when this realization struck her like a bolt of lightning, she also made a decision.
“I will show you my favorite place, too, if you want. But we have to break a bunch of rules for that.” A cheeky grin lit up her face and she gave the swing more momentum. “But not tonight. This is the only place I want to be right now. Thank you for giving me some peace.” She hoped the girl would realize how much she had helped Ileen.

@Aida Mòrsgor-Ama Ellwood

A smile blossomed across Aida’s cheeks at Ileen’s sweet words. This was the girl who had saved Aida from starvation when no one else seemed to notice or care. The glow emanating from Ileen showed Aida that the brunette’s heart had opened and welcomed in the white witch’s gift… and for this, Aida was truly happy. It was as if the magic of the old oak had been doubled, no, tripled as a result of both of them touching its bark. When Aida gently but firmly propelled Ileen on the swing, the albino felt that at last she was able to make things as they should be: tranquil, strong, free, united. Her calling was being fulfilled tonight.

Aida’s gut knew there was risk in talking about the White General and Undead King, but it wasn’t in her nature to keep it from pure, chivalrous Ileen. The white witch didn’t know what the voices were and couldn’t find anything about them in books. Having met the two mysterious figures in dreams only after the wild world of magic, ghosts, fantastic beasts, and a multitude of other supernatural beings were proven to be real during studies at Hogwarts, Aida had little reason to question the continued presence of the two figures in her mind. They were just another piece of the larger magical world to her, and for Ileen to have accepted their existence as legitimate was perhaps the most understanding and profound gift Ileen could have given her. Despite all the hours that Aida had spent with Alexander and, to a lesser extent, with Valentin, she had never actually said anything about these experiences to them. It was first (and currently only) Ileen that Aida felt right showing these parts of herself to… and tonight Aida would not regret trusting in the safety of Ileen’s heart.

The more curious thing about interacting with Ileen was that Aida had gone out of her way to show these important things to Ileen. In general Aida quietly focused on group objectives when with others and did not see any reason to impose her inner world on others. Since Aida was a pathological truth-teller she wouldn’t go out of her way to hide things about herself from her friends, but in general people didn’t ask the questions that mattered for helping Aida. It was only Ileen who went about asking and finding out what Aida needed and what was going on inside her. For Aida to have brought Ileen to the swing proactively and talked openly like this was a sort of karmic result of Ileen always actively asking about the world quietly swirling inside the white witch.

"I should be thanking you." Aida's blue-violet eyes sparkled back at Ileen. "...And I would be honoured if you would show me your favourite place," said Aida with a bow. She gave no indication of caring about the consequences of rule-breaking: for her, nothing could interfere with the importance of seeing Ileen's special place.

With that, Ileen had cemented a critical foundation of positivity and trust inside the tempest that was Aida's life... with countless repercussions to cascade years into the future.

Whenever the two were done swinging Aida would offer to take Ileen home on the back of the Silver Arrow, whispering jokingly the quicksilver steed seemed to like her. In the end, Aida would offer Ileen a warm and heartfelt hug. It was really only times like these that Aida felt like she had a home.

@Ileen Knight