The photo is what I imagine Remington Castle to look like :)
Rae' Rae x
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Continuation of previous chapter
Corinne's POV
Callie left the room and I felt tears run down my face. She has never pushed me away like that and it hurt. It hurt badly.
I sniffed and felt a hand on my shoulder. I almost forgot Ava and Evelyn were in the room,
"I think you should follow her." Ava stated,
"She said to leave her alone." I replied tearfully,
"I know she didn't mean that. When Calliria is like this, she gets irrational. You are the only one to bring her out of this. Please."
I wiped away my tears and nodded before walking out of the room. I checked every major room in the castle until I got confirmation that she had left castle grounds.
I followed her scent for a while. She had walked a fairly long distance from castle grounds. I came across a bridge. Her scent ended here.
Light fog covered the horizon. Light enough to see where you're walking but from a distance, you could only faintly see. What I faintly saw in the distance was a figure standing on the railing of the bridge.
As I walked closer, the figure started to look familiar, until I saw it was Calliria. I looked at her shocked and fearful, she wouldn't jump would she?
I started to run at that point. I could tell she had her eyes closed so she couldn't see me coming. When I knew I was close enough for her to hear me I shouted out her name,
"Calliria!!"
She jumped slightly in fright at the sound of my voice before turning to face me. I ran up to her and pulled her off of the railing, straight into my arms. That's when I broke down,
"Don't you ever scare me like that baby please! The thought of losing you, knowing you took your own life kills me. I love you. I love you so much, never forget that! I-I-" I choked on my words, "Callie."
She rubbed up and down my back before leaning back so she could look into my eyes, wiping away the tears that had fallen from them,
"I wasn't going to jump. I contemplated it but I couldn't do it. I couldn't leave my kingdom, or Corey. Most importantly, I couldn't leave you. No matter how much I've screwed up lately, I couldn't go through with it. Although, you did scare me when you called my name. I didn't expect you to be here."
"Ava knocked some sense into me but don't doubt the fact that I will always follow you. To the ends of the earth and beyond."
She smiled, "I know. Just as I would follow you the same. I'm sorry for scaring you. I only thought about jumping for a few seconds before you came. I swear to you I wasn't going to do it."
I leant my forehead against hers and caressed her cheek softly, "I was so scared." I whispered. Words couldn't even describe how scared I was when I realised it was her on the railing. The thought of losing her broke my heart. My soul.
She moved a strand of hair that had fallen into my face and gave me a light kiss on the lips,
"I'm so sorry."
I closed my eyes as she pulled me into a hug. I leant my head on her shoulder, allowing a few tears to slip out of my eyes,
"Don't cry baby, please. I didn't mean to upset you." She said with a pain-filled voice. I shook against her, struggling to control the free-flow of tears,
"I-I'm sorry, I c-can't help it! J-just the thought of you jumping... I-it hurts, s-so bad!"
I tightened my grip around her, scared to let her go incase she changed her mind and decided to leave me,
"It wasn't my intention to make you upset. I didn't even realise you were following me; I didn't want you to see me like that. Weak and vulnerable."
"Strong, confident, weak or vulnerable, I will always love you. Nothing will ever change that. Shout at me, smash objects if you have to but please, never scare me like that again. I can't handle it."
"I will never do that again."
I lifted my head up from her shoulder and looked into her eyes, just to see if she was telling the truth. Her eyes held honesty, making me let out an inaudible sigh of relief,
"Smile for me, please?" She asked. I couldn't get myself to smile though. She took a different approach and leant down to my neck. She knew I was ticklish there. She placed a gentle kiss on my neck and I giggled.
She leant up and smiled down at me, "There's that beautiful smile."
I continued smiling as I gave her a peck on the lips, "I love you."
"And I love you my Queen." She wiped away the few remaining tears that had fallen down my face, "I'm sorry for talking to you the way I did back there. All my emotions were just heightened and anger got the better of me. That wasn't me back there."
"I know." I agreed, "I will admit, it upset me when you told me to leave you alone. You've never said that to me before so I didn't know what to think. I know you didn't mean it. Let's just forget it happened okay? Start fresh."
She nodded and ran a hand over her face, "I think I need to go home and sleep, I'm so tired."
I took her hand in mine and started leading her back to castle. She yawned multiple times on our journey back. This war along with Cyran's escape had really taken a toll on her. Add to the fact that she thinks she's not fit enough to be Queen anymore; it wasn't a good combination.
When we arrived back to the castle, I led her straight to our room. She sat down on the bed and I untied her laces before taking off her combat boots. I grabbed a pair of her sleeping shorts from the drawer. After taking off her black jeans, I proceeded to put on her shorts.
I moved to the hem of her shirt, "Arms up."
She followed my instruction and lifted her arms up so that I could lift her shirt over her head. I placed the clothes in the wash basket and she got under the duvet.
I sat next to her and moved her hair from her face, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead,
"Get some rest baby. I'll come to check on you a bit later okay?"
She nodded and yawned again, "I'm sorry."
I shook my head, "It doesn't matter now. I love you."
"I love you too." She whispered before closing her eyes. It was only a matter of minutes before her breathing got heavier and she fell asleep. I smiled down at her before standing up from the bed and leaving the room, making sure to quietly close the door behind me.
I opened the castle mind-link, making sure to block Callie out, she needed all the sleep she could get and I wasn't about to interrupt that,
'Can everyone report to the throne room immediately. There are matters I want to discuss.'
'Yes Queen Corinne!' Was the reply I received back from everyone. I didn't have my crown on right now and I didn't bother to get it either. That was definitely not a top priority for me.
I walked downstairs and headed straight for the throne room. Upon my arrival, everyone bowed their heads and only raised them once I was seated on my throne,
"The reason why I have called everyone here is because of your Queen. Queen Calliria is not in a good place right now. I found her on the bridge today, standing on the railing, contemplating to jump." The crowd gasped in shock, "Luckily I arrived before she could. Although she said she wasn't going to, she still thought about it. She thought about it because a few of you, if not most of you are doubting her ability to lead this kingdom, making her feel like she is not fit to be your Queen anymore."
The majority of the room ducked their heads shamefully, "She is an amazing Queen!" Someone shouted out and I nodded in agreement,
"She is, I agree. However, none of you are showing her that you think that. Instead you doubt her, question her and then leave her to wonder whether or not she is even worthy to be alive. She-She-"
I cut myself off and closed my eyes, willing the tears forming in my eyes to go away. Just thinking about her on that bridge made me upset.
I took a deep breath and opened my eyes again, "She almost took her own life today because she thought she was not worthy. I know she's worthy and it's about time everyone started to show her that. She became your Queen at seventeen. Seventeen! Three years later, she has led this kingdom to near perfection and yet you still doubt her. Things are going to change around here whether you like it or not. Queen Calliria is one of, if not the greatest Queen to ever reign in the wolf world and we need to start making her see that."
Everyone nodded in agreement, "We will your majesty!"
"Good. As of right now she is sleeping. Todays events really took a toll on her and until further notice she is not to be disturbed. If you require anything, you come to me. Have I made myself clear?"
"Yes Queen Corinne!" The crowd said, before someone spoke out,
"Permission to speak your majesty."
I looked over at the source of the voice, "Permission granted Amanda."
She cleared her throat slightly, "How are we going to train for the upcoming war?"
"That is a matter we will discuss another time. However, we will be prepared. I, along with Queen Calliria will make sure of that myself. Although, I would like to oversee the warriors hand to hand combat please, right now. Everyone else is dismissed. Thank you for your time and thank you for your concern Amanda."
Everyone bowed and walked out of the room and I was left with only the warriors. I stood up and walked in between them, towards the door, allowing them to follow behind me. I led them to the back of the castle, right onto the training grounds,
"Sit in a single file line please, over there." I said, pointing to a spot directly in front of me. They followed my order and sat down on the grass,
"Can I have two volunteers."
Everyone raised their hands, so I picked two random warriors. Their names were Adam and Leonas,
"Okay great. Fight each other. Hand to hand combat only, no shifting; not even partially."
They bowed to me before turning to face each other and bowing to each other. It was tradition that you bowed to your opponent before every fight, to show respect.
I took a few steps back away from them and watched them fight. Straight away I could see errors. Their balance was off, their kicks weren't accurate, their punches were weak, their stance was wrong. For someone who isn't an expert in hand to hand combat, the fight would look okay but I wan an expert and this was not okay.
A good fight would usually last around thirty minutes to an hour, even past that but this one lasted only ten minutes and that was due to fatigue rather than defeat,
"You may take a seat now."
They bowed to me again and went to sit back down. I walked in front of them and cleared my throat,
"So, I watched that thoroughly and noticed many many mistakes. Can anyone point them out for me?"
One man raised his hand, "Go ahead Milos."
"He was off balance sometimes." He stated and I pointed at him,
"Correct. It wasn't even sometimes, it was most of the time, if not all the time. Not only that, your stance was incorrect, your kicks weren't executed properly and your punches weren't as strong as they should be. Milos, stand up."
He immediately stood up and came to stand in front of me. He looked fearful,
"No need to be scared, I merely want to use you for demonstration purposes." He let out a sigh of relief,
"Take your usual stance. Don't think about it, just do it."
He nodded and took his starting stance. I walked around him slowly and shook my head. When I ended up back in front of him, I mimicked his stance,
"This is how you are standing." I stood with one foot in front of the other, barely any space between them both,
"This is how you should be standing." I then moved my front foot forward so that there was more distance between my back foot and my front one. This allowed for my centre of gravity to shift forward slightly, giving me a lot more balance,
"With the correct stance, your balance improves. There's no point having your feet inches apart or having them miles apart because either way is bad. They need to be just the correct distance apart to be accurate, does everyone understand?"
Everyone nodded, "Yes your majesty."
I gestured for Milos to sit back down, "Thank you Milos."
He bowed to me and sat down with the rest of the group. I scanned them and stopped on someone else,
"Kaden, stand up."
A boy with short black hair and green eyes stood up and came to stand in front of me,
"Punch me, as hard as you can, the way you would if I was an enemy."
He looked at me shock, "I-I can't. You are my Queen and Queen Calliria would never accept this."
"As of right now Queen Calliria is not here. You listen to me and it would be in your best interest not to question me."
He nodded, "Of course your majesty, I apologise."
"Okay. Go ahead."
He took a deep breath before taking his stance. I took note that he was standing the way I demonstrated. Good, they learn fast.
He quickly moved forward and aimed to punch me but I was expecting it. I grabbed his wrist and held it in place,
"Keep your fist closed." I examined his fist and moved his thumb so that it was on the outside of his fist, between his first and second knuckle. This was to make sure he didn't break his thumb when making contact with something. I then twisted his fist around ninety degrees and let go of his wrist,
"That is where you should end up. You start off at a ninety-degree angle. As you go to make contact, you turn your fist ninety degrees so that it's straight and then you make contact. If you don't do it correctly, you'll end up getting injured and although you can heal fast, it will still be a hindrance. Understand?"
He nodded and I gestured for him to go and sit back down, "Thank you Kaden."
He bowed and sat back down with the group and I scanned the crowd once again for my final demonstration,
"Wesley. Stand up." He stood up and quickly came to stand in front of me, "Kick me, as hard as you can."
He nodded and took his stance, correctly may I add. He then took a step forward on his back leg and brought his front leg up, extending it, aiming to kick me in my stomach. I was also expecting it. I grabbed his ankle and held him in place,
"Try to keep your balance." He nodded and I examined him. I could admit that his kick was perfect, "Perfect. Your foot is at a slight angle rather than straight. I noticed you took a step forward before you advanced which is key. I have no complaints."
I let go of his ankle, "Thank you Wesley. Very well done."
He smiled and bowed before sitting back down with the rest of the group. I ran a hand through my hair before addressing the crowd,
"I want you to get into pairs and practice what I just demonstrated. I want to see correct stance and correct technique. Understand?"
"Yes Queen Corinne!" They replied before standing up and getting into pairs. They spread out across the grounds and I moved back slightly so observe them from a distance.
My mind was running back and forth between the training in front of me and whether or not Callie was really okay. She said she was never going to jump but she still thought about it. That scares me. Was she so upset that she would rather take her own life than face it head on? Was I that bad of a mate not to realise it?
I sighed and shook my head, clearing the thoughts. I looked over at a pair and saw one of them had an incorrect stance. I was about to show him what would happen with an incorrect stance.
I walked behind him and swiped his feet out from under him, making him fall to the ground. He groaned as he made impact,
"That is what your opponent will do when they realise your stance is incorrect. They will see you are off balance and take advantage of that. That is not what we want. Sort it out."
He nodded and stood up from the ground, "My apologies your majesty."
I gave him a final look before stepping back again. We kept going for around an hour. It was a long time but I wanted them to get it down to the tee.
When I thought they had practiced enough and were at a suitable level, I let out a whistle, making them stop and face me,
"Alright, I think that's enough for today. We will reconvene tomorrow morning. Well done everyone, you are dismissed."
They all bowed to me and walked off back into the castle so I took that as my chance to check up on Callie. Corey still had a few hours left of school so we had a while before picking him up.
I walked into the castle and made my way towards our room. I quietly opened the door and poked my head through, only to see that she was awake, sitting up on the bed. I fully walked into the room and she looked up at me and smiled,
"Hey baby." She said. I closed the door behind me and went to sit down on the foot of the bed,
"Hey. Are you feeling better?"
She nodded, "Much better. I really needed that sleep, even if it was for only an hour. Sorry about that."
I shook my head, "You don't have to apologise for being tired, it's understandable. I'm just glad you're feeling better."
She moved forward and lifted me up, making me squeal in shock. She then lay me back down so that I was next to her, my back against her front and she wrapped an arm around my waist. She used her free arm to move my hair from my neck, allowing her to lean down and place a gentle kiss there, making me giggle,
"Why do you insist on doing that all the time?" I asked and I felt her smile against my neck,
"It makes you smile. I love it when you smile. It makes me happy."
I turned around in her arms and continued to smile at her, "I did some partial training with the warriors. In hand to hand combat. I had to correct their technique a few times but I think they got it now."
"I knew I married you for a reason." She said with a smirk. I hit her chest playfully,
"You married me because you love me. It's just a bonus I'm a good fighter."
She gave me a peck on the lips before sitting up on the bed. I sat up next to her and we stayed in a comfortable silence for a while.
My mind ended up going back to Callie on the bridge again. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't erase the memory.
I felt Callie wipe my cheek and that's when I realised I was crying. The memory alone makes me cry so easily.
She looked at me concerned, "What's wrong love? Why are you crying?"
"I just- I keep thinking about you on the bridge. I can't get it out of my head!"
She looked down guiltily, "I'm sorry. I usually go to that bridge when I'm upset or need to clear my head. I've never stood on the railing before though. I just got so overwhelmed with everything that for a few moments I thought it would just be easier to end everything. Although I came to the conclusion not to do it in the end, it was cowardly of me to even contemplate it."
I hit her multiple times in the chest and it wasn't playful this time, "It was selfish! Fucking selfish!! You were willing to leave your kingdom, leave your son! You were willing to leave me! I hate you for wanting to take your own life!!" I broke down into her arms and she gently grabbed my wrists to stop me from hitting her. She pulled me into her and hugged me close,
"I hate you so much." I whispered defeated and she tightened her grip on me,
"Shhhhh baby, it's okay. I'm still here and I will never do that again."
I looked up at her and held her face in my hands, looking directly into her eyes, never straying away from them,
"Promise me. Promise me that you will never contemplate taking your own life again. Swear it on the Goddess."
She kept eye contact with me as she spoke the next words, "I promise you I will never contemplate taking my own life again. I swear it on the Goddess herself."
I closed my eyes and leant my forehead against her, letting out a sigh of relief. I opened them again and looked back into her eyes,
"I remember when you fell at my feet," She started, "It was like you were an angel. You saved me in more ways than one and I don't know how I can ever repay you for that."
I lay her back on the bed and hovered over her, straddling her waist, "You can repay me right now. If you want to."
She smiled and pulled me down to kiss her. We let ourselves go from that point on. It was a way to forget about everything that had happened today and I couldn't have been more thankful for it.
â¢Later that evening*
Me and Callie were sitting in the meeting room, surrounded by the council again. Corey was currently in bed, he was so tired when he came home from school that all he did was eat dinner and go to sleep. He did say he was excited to go back tomorrow though, which was good. I'm glad he's settling in well.
Callie waved her hand in front of my face and I came out of my daydream and looked over at her,
"I'm sorry, did you say something?"
She looked at me worriedly, "Are you okay? You kind of spaced out there."
I nodded and gave her a reassuring smile, "I'm fine. What is it you were saying?"
She started me down, obviously not believing me when I said I was fine but she didn't question it, thankfully,
"We were saying how would you feel about putting Drayton under a sort of spell? Physically, I can't get anything out of him so maybe that will."
"Right, okay. I'm not for that, I'm sorry."
She looked at me confused, "Why not?"
"It's wrong. I don't know whether or not Drayton helped Cyran escape but putting him under a spell? Don't you think that's going too far?"
"Corinne," Madam Victoria started, "It's rare we do this but this is top priority. Cyran fuelled a war and intentionally led his parents into that war to get them killed. He is a threat that is capable of anything and these are the measures we need to take in order to catch him. However, it's made clear by Calliria that we cannot go ahead with this until we get your approval."
I sighed and lay my head on the table. The table felt so cool against my face, considering I felt so hot, which was weird because although werewolves had a constant warm temperature, I've never felt this hot before.
"Corinne." I raised my head again and Callie placed her hand on my forehead, "You're burning up."
I shook my head, "That's impossible, wolves don't get sick."
"It's rare that they do but it does happen, I think you should go and see the pack doctor."
I stood up from the chair and raised my hands in protest, "I don't need to see the pack doctor, I'm fine."
Before I could even hear Callie's reply, everything went black.
When I came back around I had no idea how long I was out for. I groaned and immediately reached for my head. I had such a headache it was unreal,
"Open your eyes baby, please."
I slowly opened my eyes and blinked multiple times to adjust my eyes to the sudden light. I looked around the room to see I was in the hospital room within the castle. I had an IV attached to my arm and Callie was leaning over the bed, tears in her eyes. She let out a sigh of relief,
"Thank the Goddess you're awake; I was so worried."
I slowly sat up on the bed confused, "What happened?"
"You fainted due to dehydration. When was the last time you drank something? In fact, when was the last time you ate?"
I thought back and came up short. I know I had dinner the night before but that's all I could think of,
"I don't know." I replied and she sighed,
"The fever was unexplainable but it's gone down significantly now. You've been out for about four hours now."
I looked at her shocked, "Are you serious?"
She nodded, "I am. I caught you before you fell to the ground and you wouldn't wake up, I was so scared, I didn't know what to do. I was panicking and-"
I cut her off by leaning over and pressing my lips to hers. I felt her body relax and she melted into the kiss. I was about to deepen the kiss when the door knocked... Again.
She pulled away from me and gave me a final peck on the lips before walking to the door. She opened it and the doctor bowed to us both before walking in,
"How are you feeling your majesty?" She asked, looking directly over at me, checking over a few of her notes,
"I'm okay, I have a bit of a headache but other than that I feel okay."
She nodded and wrote some things down, "Okay that's great. You were dehydrated and the fact that you hadn't eaten only made things worse, hence why you fainted so suddenly. I also know that you partook in some fairly vigorous activities today, including shifting."
I could see Callie smirk from behind the doctor when she said vigorous activities. I smiled and shook my head at her. Her mind was always in the gutter,
"I know doctor, I'm sorry. So much has happened today, I guess it was the last thing on my mind."
"Well, we've given you fluids through a drip so your body should be back to normal. Please, drink water throughout the day and eat something, even if it is just a snack. We'd like to avoid this from happening again your majesty."
I nodded, "Of course doctor."
She smiled at me, "Great. Whenever you're ready, you're free to go."
She gently took the IV out of my arm and my arm healed in a matter of seconds. I thanked her and she bowed before walking out of the room, closing the door behind her.
I gestured for Callie to walk forward and once she was near me, I grabbed the front of her shirt and pulled her down towards me,
"So, where were we?"
She smirked and licked her bottom lip slightly, "I believe we were doing this." She leant down and pressed her lips against mine gently, "And I was about to do this."
She moved from my lips and kissed down to my neck. As ticklish as I was there, out of instinct, I arched my neck to give her more access before she moved back up to my lips.
I ran a hand up her shirt and she shivered against me. She was so irresistible that I found it hard to keep both my hands and my lips away from her.
Someone cleared their throat, making Callie pull away from me. I opened my eyes to look into hers and she smiled at me before giving me a final peck on the lips and turning to face the door. It was Madam Victoria,
"So, this is what you get up to in your free time?"
Callie shrugged and stood up straight, "What we do in our free time is our business, no one else's. I'm sure no one questions you and Lord Cartillian's business."
She nodded, "True. Very true. Anyway, I'm here because we have a lead into Cyran's escape."
Both me and Callie perked up significantly at that and gestured for her to continue,
"We checked out the cells today. Before you ask, we don't have the combination but Killian is a very powerful warlock so getting in was easy. None of us could sense it but he could sense a witch had been down there recently. A very powerful witch."
I gasped, "Diane."
She nodded, "Precisely. Hence why this only happened after she arrived and why Drayton said he didn't do it. He was telling the truth."
I immediately felt guilt wash over Callie. It was strong enough for me to feel it through our connection. I placed a hand on her arm,
"You didn't know. You did what was right and followed your instinct. We all thought he did it, me included."
She sighed, "No amount of apologies will ever be able to express how guilty I feel right now and how truly sorry I am to him. Drayton has been a friend of mine for years and I didn't trust him."
"That is the least of your worries," Madam Victoria stated, "What you should be worrying about is greater than that. Not only do you have an upcoming war with vampires. Cyran has been released by a witch. They are involved together somehow and it's your job as a Queen to figure out how. It's also your job to figure out where they are. Do not disappoint me young Queens."
Me and Callie nodded and she walked out of the room. Callie let out exasperated sigh and ran her hands through her hair,
"We need to call another meeting now."
I nodded in agreement, then I heard her through the mind link, 'Can everyone report to the throne room immediately.'
'Yes Queen Calliria!' Everyone replied.
I swung my legs over the bed and stood up. I took Callie's hand in mine and we made our way to the throne room.
It was extreme dé ja vu walking into the throne room again, for the second time today. Like always everyone bowed to us and only raised their heads when we sat down.
Callie addressed the crowd, "We both deeply apologise for bringing you back here again. However, we have a new lead into Cyran's escape. As you may or may not be aware, my friend of ten years Diane, recently came to live in the castle. It has been brought to my attention that she is a witch and helped Cyran escape."
They erupted into loud murmurs, until Callie raised her hand, silencing everyone immediately,
"Due to this, I want a search party out looking for her. It's clear she's not in the castle and whatever relationship she has with Cyran is beyond me but they need to be found. Find Diane and we find Cyran, however, I warn you now, she is a powerful witch so tread carefully. Heed that warning."
Everyone nodded, "Permission to speak your majesty."
"Permission granted Zen." Callie replied,
"Are you feeling better now? As much as it doesn't seem like it, we do care about you. You are our Queen, how could we not? You've been amazing."
I smiled at his comment and looked at Callie to see her smiling as well. That was exactly what she needed to hear and I could see that it made her very happy,
"I am feeling much better Zen, thank you for asking. Also, as much as I don't show it, I care about my kingdom and everyone in it, every single one of you is an asset to the kingdom." Everyone smiled and bowed to her,
"If there are no more questions, everyone is dismissed for the night. I hope everyone has a pleasant sleep."
The crowd walked out of the room and Callie turned to face me, "Are you ready for bed?"
I nodded, "Even though I practically slept for four hours straight I still feel tired, today was hectic."
She looked down guiltily and I knew she was thinking back to the bridge. I took one of her hands in mine and used my other hand to raise her head back to look at me,
"It's over now and you promised me you wouldn't do it again. I trust you so let's just leave it in the past and move forward okay?"
She nodded, "Okay. I would like to drop Corey to school tomorrow, seeing as I didn't today, if that's okay with you."
I smiled, "You're his mother as well Callie, you don't have to ask my permission to drop him to school. I would like to train with the warriors again tomorrow so why don't we take turns dropping him and then every Friday, we drop him to school together?"
"I like that idea. Come, let's go to bed."
I nodded and allowed her to lead me to our bedroom. It didn't take us long to change because Callie only wore shorts and a bra to bed and recently, she's gotten me into doing the same thing although I will admit, it's extremely comfortable.
Once we were changed, we both got under the covers and Callie wrapped her arms around my waist, pulling me so that my back was against her front. She gently moved my hair and placed a light kiss on my shoulder,
"Goodnight my Queen. I love you." She whispered and I sighed in content,
"I love you too." I replied in a whisper.
From there we fell deep into a blissful sleep. I knew that from this point on, it was going to be hard. We were going to be tested but I knew that in the end, we would prevail and we would do it together.