Chapter 18

While Celestia kept her head down, lost in her thoughts, Victoria sat beside her, clearly struggling with something she wanted to say but couldn't quite bring herself to say aloud. The silence stretched on, heavy and stifling. After a long pause, Victoria finally broke it. "Celestia," she called gently. When Celestia finally looked up at her, Victoria slowly began, "Leon filled me in on everything between you and Jareth... You've really been through a lot." Her voice carried both sympathy and guilt, and the soft sigh in her eyes almost made the apology feel tangible. Celestia hesitated, caught off guard. She hadn't expected that. Her sore heart, which had barely started to scab over, suddenly cracked open again. The frustration she'd bottled up for so long started bubbling up, and yet Victoria's apology still surprised her. What exactly did she know? Did she realize everything had been part of Jareth's manipulation? Victoria noticed the pain flash across Celestia's face. With a gentle