Chapter 11

They leave for the mayor early the next morning. Miriam fell asleep in Greta’s arms yesterday, but she’s been quiet ever since they woke up. Greta kept an eye on her the whole morning, asking her how she’s feeling, but she only got grunts in reply. She thought Miriam would be happy seeing the wolves disappear, but instead, she seems even sadder than before.

She glances at Miriam now, as they walk down the street in the early morning light. Maybe it’s simply shock, a delayed reaction to what happened after they came home yesterday. She decides to continue to keep an eye on her and watch for any changes.

Ingrid greets them at the door and gestures for them to come inside.

“He’s already awake”, she says as she leads them through the hallway.

The mayor is writing a letter as they step inside his office, and he looks up at them and smiles as he sees them.

“My loves..”

He puts the pen down and gestures for them to sit.

“How are you feeling?”

Greta glances at Miriam, but she’s staring down at the floor, seemingly not having heard him.

“The wolves came back yesterday”, Greta hesitantly answers.

“Did they?”

He looks at them concerned, and Greta continues,

“Miriam broke the spells.”

She looks at Miriam as she says it, but she gets no reaction from her.

“You did?”, the mayor asks and turns to Miriam.

Only now does Greta see the first movement from her, a faint nod as Miriam continues to stare down at the floor.

“They left after that”, Greta ends.

The mayor goes quiet and then murmurs to himself,

“So it worked.”

The silence settles over the room, and Greta wonders if she should mention Miriam in front of the mayor when she hears a sob. She turns, and Miriam is standing with her arms limp by her side, crying.

“My love…”

The mayor gets up and walks over to her.

“Are you okay?”

Miriam throws her arms around him, and he holds her, surprised.

“It’s okay”, he whispers.

“I can’t stay here”, Greta hears her mumble between the sobs.

“What did you say?”

The mayor looks at her.

“I… can’t stay here…”

“My love, why are you saying that?”

He glances at Greta, who shrugs. She didn’t know Miriam was thinking about leaving.

“I broke the spells”, Miriam sobs in reply.

The mayor looks at her, confused.

“I don’t belong here any longer.”

She slips down on the floor, sobbing harder, and the mayor kneels down.

“My love, this is your town. It will always be your town.”

“But I’m no longer their Protector.”

She stops sobbing and glances at him.

“Not if I don’t have the spells…”

He smiles at her.

“No, love, you’re Miriam first and foremost. Nothing else.”

He takes her hand and squeezes it gently in his.

“You don’t need to be our Protector.”

She dries her eyes.

“We need you here, just like Miriam.”