Page 122 of Gift from the Tree

Maybe this forced proximity will make the others come out of the armored shells they have and maybe Willow can begin to forgive us.

“Time moves slower here,” Willow comments from where she’s laid out across the couch in the lounge with her feet propped in my lap.

“I thought Gaster said the length of the day was the same from the nonmagical realm to here?” I ask.

Laying her journal on her chest, marking the page she’s on, she explains, “Not like that. I mean, the amount of time we’ve all spent together today, the amount of information I’ve been able to consume in one sitting, how much practice I got earlier. Today would’ve taken weeks to accomplish back in the nonmagical realm.”

“I’m not sure I understand still, kitten. I’m sorry.”

“The days are spent differently I guess is what I’m trying to say. There, most people work all hours of the day, morning to night, some opposite, night until the next morning. They only have two days off a week. It’s called the weekend and it’s used to playing catch-up on things they need done around their homes, barely any time left to commit to relationships or friendships.”

That sounds fucking awful. Who wants to spend the day in and out working like that with no reward from it? I mean, I guess Corentin and Tillman do, but like today, this week, they can separate it if they want to.

She continues describing the nightmare that is the nonmagical realm. “Even schooling is far different. From a young age, you go to school all day. Early hours of the morning until afternoon. There are no long breaks in the middle of the day to space classes out. Then you go home and do homework, wake up and do it all over again the next day, until you get a two-day weekend.”

“Is that a more effective way of education?” Corentin asks her. I can tell by how he looks, he doesn’t like the idea of hours spent in classes with no breaks, but if it proves better, he’ll do whatever necessary.

Willow snorts, shaking her head. “Not at all. It burns you out. You grow tired of it, and it becomes more punishing than teaching. Also, especially for the younger ones, it’s hard to stay focused for so long. The time spent in class lessens in college, but that time is replaced with studying as much as you can outside the classroom.”

“I got to be honest with you, sweetness, that all sounds completely miserable. You don’t miss it, do you? Is that how you spent your days?” I hope she doesn’t because we won’t be doing that here. No way do I plan to subject myself, my brothers, or her, most importantly, to a lifetime of work and no play.

“No, I don’t miss it nor were my days spent exactly like that. Well, I mean, when I was in school, yes, you don’t have a choice, but otherwise no. My time was spent on books and hiding from Donald and my father in the woods. Every now and then, I’d be forced to go to functions or galas, dinner parties or whatnot, but they kept me pretty much locked away in the house.” She releases her breath and shakes her head, fighting off memories I see trying to creep in, so I give her foot a reassuring squeeze, bringing her back to the present.

“I guess what I’m saying about the time thing is that everyone is busy there with what now seems like such mundane and wasteful things, it makes your days shorter and less enjoyable. Here, it’s peaceful and meaningful. I guess that’s what I was trying to say.” She blushes a little, picking her journal back up to hide her embarrassment. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, though. If she feels that way about being here, I’m happy to hear it.

“It won’t always be this way, not that this is bad. I love when all of us get to be home together, but times can be busier than others. We’ll travel and explore. We’ll sometimes go with Tillman on missions or go and visit family. Corentin will have to travel to the other academies and check on things, and I’m sure we can go with him or stay. That’s the beauty of it. We, as a Nexus, have a lot of responsibilities, but we can and will make time for us. The Nexus will always come first,” I tell her sincerely. We’ve always been busy, with Corentin and Tillman holding important positions, and me and Caspian have many uses, even without permanent jobs like those two. We’re constantly needed, but all that changes with her here. She’ll always be first.

“Really, we’ll travel? I’ve been studying the four territories. Aquaria, beautiful beaches, lots of islands and water. It supposedly turns into a gorgeous frozen, ice land during the winter. Terian, huge mountain ranges, caves, forests, greenery all around. The caverns there are home of where most of the gems in Elementra come from. Aeradora, high hills and apparently massive, towering trees. They say it sounds like the trees are singing when the wind blows between them. And Pyrathia, hot springs in a multitude of colors. They named the territory after the one and only volcano on Elementra, Pyra. Am I right?” she asks, mesmerized.

“Oh gosh, the Central, the center of all four territories, the oldest of them all, filled with history, and where the rulers live. Beauty from all four territories meets there. It all sounds so amazing. I can’t wait to see everything.” She sits straight up, clapping her hands like she does when things make her excited.

“Willow, I need to tell you about the Central—” Corentin’s cut off as Gaster walks in.

“Good afternoon, kiddos. Care if an old man joins you for dinner?”

Walking directly to Willow, he gives her head a little pat and a soft smile.

“Of course,” she exclaims happily. “Oh, well, I mean, is it okay?” She backtracks, asking all of us.

“Don’t do that, Willow. This is as much as your house as it is ours. If you want Gaster over for dinner, then he’s welcome. If you want Oakly over, all you have to do is give us a heads-up. If there’s ever a time it’s not okay, we’ll try our best to give you a heads-up. Don’t feel like you need our permission for anything,” Corentin tells her seriously.

“Okay,” she whispers, looking back at Gaster with a smile. “Yes, please join us.”

“Thank you. I could feel the ground moving today. Were you practicing?” he asks knowingly.

“Yeah, we were. I think I did good,” she says, way too humble. She should be gloating to everyone.

“She did better than good. She was fucking amazing, Gaster. An absolute natural. No doubt she’ll be giving Tillman a run for his money in no time,” I chime in, giving her the credit she’s due.

“Draken’s a little biased.” She laughs. “I did good.” She doubles down.

“Draken’s right,” Tillman says from across the room, causing Willow to whip her gaze to him in disbelief. “Between working with me and possibly getting Corentin to show you some things with your air, I have no doubt you’ll be better than we are.”

“I thought we’d be equal?” she asks, her tone low and breathy.

“In strength, yes. But your control will far surpass ours,” Tillman says matter-of-factly, but Willow’s taking this personal, to heart. It’s written all over her face. It means a lot to hear him tell her that. She doesn’t believe she’s that good, but we know it.

Gaster’s pouring pride off him. He knows Tillman doesn’t hand compliments out for the hell of it. “I knew you’d be incredible, child. Never doubt yourself.”

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