Price of a smile

“How did you know?” asked Hollie after a long period of silence on their way back to the academy.

“What do you mean?” asked Seth back.

Hollie moved in front of him and her eyes reddened again as she asked: “How did you know? You owe me an answer, don’t you?”

Seth nodded with a serious expression before saying: “I looked into your past and also searched for someone suffering from the same poison your mother did. I figured if you could help someone suffering from the same poison that took away your mother, you could ease some of the guilt that has been plaguing you ever since.”

Hollie closed her eyes and fell to her knees while crying silently in the middle of the street. Bending down, Seth grabbed her hand and said: “You were just a curious little girl. How do you think your mother would feel if she saw you tormenting yourself over it for so long? It’s been more than a century, Hollie…”