Amelia stares out of the window with a blank expression, her frown deepening the harder she tries to visualize her son's face.
She has not seen him for months and now their time apart would be much longer. "It's not easy you know."
Atari Dean does not take his eyes off the road when he speaks. "What's not easy?"
"Being human in the world of magic." Amelia licks her lips before sighing. "I know my work as a doctor is valuable, I have saved the lives of countless people from so many different Capitals, I have seen what I am capable of enough times already but... I feel like a bad mother. I can help everyone but my son."
Atari Dean sighs, finally looking at his wife. "None of this is your fault."
"It is my fault Dean. I am his mother. I could not protect him from this, I could not save him from the curse, I could not save him from-" Amelia presses her lips tightly together, afraid that even speaking the man's name would summon him. "His father."
Atari Dean puts on hand on Amelia's thigh, but he does not say anything. She will not listen to him, not like this, not when she is so deep inside her head.
"Stop the car." she says quietly.
"Did you say something?" Dean asks her.
"I said, stop the car!" Amelia says a little louder. "Stop the car!" Dean slams his foot down on the break until the slow down enough for Amelia to get out. She takes her seatbelt off and throws the door open, leaving it that way when she walks towards the row of bushes on the side of the road.
"What are you doing honey?" she hears him say behind her, the sound of his door shutting a second later.
Amelia scans the bush until she sees a black shoe attached to a leg. "Hello, I know you are there. Are you hurt?" When there is no response, she tries again. "I can see your leg."
She smiles when the leg moves and hides behind the bush. "I am a doctor...I can help."
"No... I am fine."
"Are you sure...Why are you hiding?"
Amelia turns around when she hears Dean's boots crunching against the gravel. "Is everything okay?"
Amelia pulls Dean to the side, away from the bushes. "There is someone hiding in there. I think they are in danger."
"What makes you think that?"
When Dean folds his arms, Amelia mimics his action. "Why would someone be hiding in the side of the road, heading towards the barrier, if they were not in danger?"
"Are we going to keep doing this?"
"Doing what?"
"Answering questions with questions?"
Amelia rolls her eyes and lightly slaps her husband on the chest. "Now is not the time to be flirting with me Dean."
Dean smiles with his hazel eyes. "You are my wife."
Amelia scoffs. "Men."
She walks away from him, shaking her head. "Okay, sweetie, can you come out for me so I can check you are not injured? I promise I will leave you alone after that." Amelia says whilst crouching down near the bush.
"Atari Dean." Noa calls from the car. "We must hurry."
"Atari Dean?"
Amelia hears the voice say, like it is familiar with that name. "Yes, Atari Dean, he is my husband. Do you know him?" Amelia sees the leaves on the bush rustle and an eye peek out slowly to look up at her.
She gasps when the dark-haired boy reveals himself. "It's you."
"Is that-" Before Dean can ask his question, Amelia starts talking.
"Are you hurt?" When Roan shakes his head, she nods her head once. "Good. Dean, start the car, we need to get him out of here."
"The Valsari are looking for him Amelia, they will not let us leave if they find him in our possession."
"Then we have to hide him in the trunk." Amelia stares into her husband's eyes, pleading to let her help the boy. When Dean does a small nod of his head, Amelia turns back to Roan and extends and arm. "Come with us. I promise, you'll be safe with us."
Roan is hesitant at first, but he reaches out and takes her hand. "I have a barrier disrupter but it take a while to activate."
Atari Dean takes the machine from Roan to get a better look at it. "Alright, I can work with this but you'll still need to get in the trunk in case things go south."
Inside the trunk of the car, spooning the cold blade in his arms, Roan feels his body relaxing until he loses consciousness. The jerking of the vehicle when it goes over bumps on the road momentarily wake him from his slumber but even, they do not stop him from falling asleep.
Before he does however, he sees the blue hue of magic glowing around the vehicle, meaning that they are now out of the barrier.
In his dream, Roan falls endlessly through the sky, the sun setting on the horizon, painting the clouds in amber tones, his fair flying around his face as the wind rushes past his falling body.
After they collided, they would separate, the beauty and his beast now two worlds apart.