[Sasseville Residence] Pushed over the precipice (Sabbie)

It was a warm, sunny early August afternoon, and Maddie was, once again, spending it at her favourite family's home. It wasn't rare for the Girard to spend plenty of time at her best friend's house, especially during the summer holidays, but she'd spent pretty much every day of the past month at the Sasseville residence and everyone who was well aware of her and Sabrina's shared history could probably guess why. "Sabbie? Are you out here?" Maddie craned her neck from side to side, hoping to spot the brown-haired girl somewhere on the lawns outside the Sasseville's home. She was standing by the front door, having spent the past few minutes searching the house for Sabrina - with no luck in finding her. Where could she be?!

The ballerina had been ill for the duration of her fifth year at Beauxbatons, and the tall blonde had, therefore, been worried sick (though not literally, of course) about her the entire school year. She'd tried to spend as much time as she possibly with the frail witch, but as Sabbie had appeared to begin to heal physically near the end of January, she'd begun to get more and more unwell emotionally and mentally (which, unfortunately, went unnoticed by even those most close to her). The Papillonlisse had begun to expect that her dear friend was avoiding her in early March and though there'd been a slight respite in the distance between them around Maddie's birthday, things had only gotten worse in the following weeks and months. The 16-year-old had gone from feeling suspicious to sad to confused to hopeful to disappointed to worried to even more confused in the past six months, and it had finally gotten to the point where she needed to get some answers from Sabrina, and not just for her own curiosity. Maddie was generally the type to be a follower and "go-with-the-flow", but in this highly important and worrying case, she felt like she had to do something, for both her and her best friend's sakes.

The Papillonlisse had kept a watchful eye on Sabbie ever since they'd arrived home for the summer, but the two girls had never talked about anything remotely serious or important, just about the weather or their friends and family members - small talk, really. Maddie knew the brunette was keeping things from her though. Why else had she been acting so strangely the past few months? The normally very trusting witch had become quite skeptical of Sabrina and everything it seemed she wasn't telling her. She understood that sometimes people had things they didn't want to tell other people, but the pair of teenagers had always told each other everything. Or at least Maddie had thought they did.

She was presently looking for the elusive girl as she'd spent the morning playing with Axel and Aurelia and the tall blonde hadn't seen Sabbie since she'd arrived at the house shortly after breakfast. She'd been trying to find a good time to talk to the ballerina for weeks, but something or someone always seemed to interrupt them or get in their way. That day though, Maddie was determined to, literally, sit the sickly witch down and have a proper discussion with her, whether she wanted to or not. She was tired of feeling a disconnect with her best friend and she hoped by just coming out and asking Sabrina a few, real questions that she could fix things between them.

Walking away from the house and towards a tree that the brunette occasionally sat under, the Papillonlisse grinned excitedly when she caught sight of Sabbie, perched rather stiffly on the worn, painted bench that was beneath it. Skipping the rest of the way up to the lone girl, Maddie lightly plopped herself down beside her, tempted to playfully poke Sabrina's arm but resisting the urge, not knowing the Sasseville's current mood. "Sabs! Here you are! Have you been sitting here long, all by yourself?" Beaming contentedly at her dear friend, the 16-year-old took a deep breath and started the conversation she'd been wanting to have with the ballerina for months. "Ummm...can I ask you a question, Sabbie?" Maddie looked down at her lap and picked at a seam at the bottom of her skirt, feeling unexpectedly nervous all of the sudden. "I know during my birthday party, the one you and Elle planned for me, you said you weren't upset with me, but has that changed? It's just... you seem to be trying to spend even less time with me than you were before and... I-I kinda feel like there are things you're keeping from me." Looking back up and meeting her dear friend's eye, the tall blonde broached one final question. "You'd have told me, wouldn't of you, if something was really wrong?"

Sabrina was past the point of miserable. All she felt now was this soul-crushing emptiness, lifelessness... loneliness. And yet, she had been anything but alone, in fact, it was quite the opposite. She was almost never alone. Her best friend (although Sabbie wasn't sure how she felt about applying that term anymore) seemed to spend every waking moment trying to hang out with the Sasseville and the ballerina thought that Maddie might as well change her surname to Sasseville while she was at it, she spent more time in Sabs' home than her actual home. Although she ordinarily would have loved spending so much time with her childhood bestie, quite frankly her presence was contributing to all the horrible feelings the sickly witch was experiencing and therefore, her constant presence was like a fly buzzing around her that wouldn't go away and it was extremely irritating. The Papillonlisse just wanted to be left alone. Was that too much to ask?! She saw how people were seemingly walking on eggshells around her and it was quickly becoming infuriating.

All the Sasseville girl wanted to do was wallow in her guilt over Elle and her decision to do the exact opposite of what Sabrina hoped she would do. She wanted to feel the blame that was her's over Eliott as well. The regret of what Antoine had become, which was also her fault. Now that it was the Summer holidays she couldn't even sneak off and practice her forbidden passion of ballet, someone in the household would find her or hear her sooner or later and she didn't think she was willing to live through yet another lecture. She wasn't allowed to dance or run or sing, no chores, nothing that would cause strain upon the chronically ill French witch. The brunette felt like she was turning into a useless ornament that was merely to be shown off (not that she was anything to look at, especially not recently) or a fragile, porcelain doll. She wanted to be more than just decoration, more than a living parasite. She wanted to do something, anything. Sabrina needed a purpose.

As it was, for once, the ballerina was actually completely alone. She'd had phials of various potions shoved down her throat all morning and a ridiculous amount of creams and lotions and Merlin knew what else applied on her, just because she asked to go outside. What a joke. Luckily, now that she was outside, she had found the tree with the bench that she normally sat under. The tree was a blessing because it provided shade which meant she could stay outdoors for longer without the use of her parasol which remained on the ground beside her.

The Sasseville was doing nothing, however, mainly because she had nothing to do. She sat rigidly, fixated on a spot in front of her, her mind trained on some worrying thoughts that had been recently brewing. It was that book she had found in the Beauxbatons library. She wanted to read it, after all, it could finally shed some light on why she was 'cursed' to have such a life, but she was also afraid. Terrified was more accurate. If what she suspected was true, and the book confirmed her niggling doubt, Sabbie felt like it would change everything. And not just for her, but for her mother and father, her siblings (particularly the older ones) and definitely her friends. Would she even be able to bring herself to tell them? But f course, there was the possibility that it would not be what she hoped feared, and everything would be as it was before. Could she continue to live as she had? Recent events suggested probably not. Perhaps that was what she was really afraid of, that she would never find the answer to her illness, never be able to become at peace with her condition and move on.

A faint call disrupted the Sasseville's reverie and a stony expression quickly set itself upon her face. Please no. Not now. Sabrina pleaded to the heavens for the call not to be who she thought it was but alas, Madeleine's figure soon came into view and Sabbie automatically tensed up even more as her friend sat beside her. All she had to do was stay calm for a few more moments. Stay mellow. Stay patient. The brunette actually had no idea how long she'd been staring at a blade of grass for, but her response was a simple and to the point "No." Her wit was all but lost to the once charming witch. Still, the silly question that came from the blonde's lips made the corners of Sabs' lips twitch upwards as she teasingly replied, "You already have." More words followed and all the teenager wanted to do was put her hands over her ears and block it out. Every new, utterly raw, bold question that came out of the other witch's mouth made Sabs feel like she was a bubbling cauldron which was having more and more heat applied to it and that it was only a matter of time before she blew over. The Sasseville took a deep breath in and let it out through her nose noisily.

The answers to her questions were complicated and Sabrina didn't know how to answer Madeleine. She was upset with the blonde and yet she wasn't. It wasn't the other witch's fault but at the same time... she wasn't helping either. The French witch was genuinely surprised it had taking Maddie so long to finally figure out what she was attempting to do, and she was somewhat glad the blonde had. Maybe Maddie would finally get the message and leave her alone. Still, her final question pushed her over the edge and the mentally... ill witch burst out laughing. She had tried to jump off a bridge and here her best friend was asking her if she would have told her friend if something was seriously wrong. Admittedly, she did kind of tell her friend. She had written a letter to her, but thanks to Eliott's annoying intervention, Maddie had never seen the letter and nor was she likely to.

The sickly ballerina sat there blankly, blinking a few times in silence trying to figure out what to say and perhaps more importantly how to say it. One point was bugging Sabrina more than anything. If Maddie had to even ask the last question... just how much did the other girl know? Had El even told her about her 'episode'? Or was it all hushed up? Sabbie couldn't even remember the evening past the point of being carried back to the castle, so she had no clue. She certainly hadn't told Maddie, but surely someone would have said something... right? Was Maddie just tiptoeing around her like everyone else, again? Her nostrils flared in anger. She was sick of this. Enough was enough. "Why would you think I'm upset with you just because I don't want to spend every waking moment with you?" Sabrina countered defensively. Frustration and subtle deception present in her tighter than normal tone. "If something was wrong and it involved you, then I would tell you. But nothing is wrong and it defintiely isn't any of your business," she snapped, her words betraying the fact that she was lying. Sabrina finally turned to face the blonde, her normally passive, calm face twisted as if she was disgusted by the Girard witch's presence, "why can't you take the hint and leave me alone for at least ten minutes!"

"Oh good!" Maddie smiled warmly, happy knowing her best friend hadn't been left all on her own for too long. She understood that Sabrina was capable of looking after herself when she wasn't terribly ill and bed-ridden, but the sociable Papillonlisse still liked the thought of the Sasseville always having someone with her, who could keep her company and help her if she did ever need anything - and Maddie was sure no one (well, besides the sickly witch's parents and older siblings) could do that better than she could! She eagerly grinned back at the frail ballerina's slight smirk, excited to get a positive reaction out of the brunette, as it had been a rare occurrence over the past year or so. Giggling in response to the other girls rather cheeky answer, the tall witch reached out and lightly grasped Sabbie's hand, wanting to keep the small smile on her dear friend's face. "I suppose I have, haven't I? You don't mind if I ask you more than one though, right?" Maddie confidently winked and smirked back at the Sasseville, squeezing her pale hand a bit harder in utter delight of how well their conversation was going so far.

That encouraging feeling didn't last long though. The blonde-haired girl noticed Sabrina take a deep, shaky breath. Was she feeling okay? Did she feel nauseous? Maddie knew that the ballerina didn't often eat breakfast, especially when they were at Beauxbatons, during the school year, so if she hadn't eaten at all that morning either maybe that could be the cause for her upset stomach and laboured breathing? Opening her mouth to inquire, the jumpy Papillonlisse nearly fell off the bench the next moment at Sabbie's highly unexpected outburst of laughter. It was a nice sound, even with its slightly puzzling timing, and after only a brief pause to settle her startled heart rate, Maddie smiled somewhat tentatively back at the brunette. What was so funny though? Were her questions that silly? Had the brunette just randomly thought of something amusing? The 16-year-old's wariness and concern increased as each second went by with Sabrina not saying anything else or giving an explanation for her rather out-of-character reaction. Why was the Sasseville not looking at her? Why was she suddenly so tense?

From the moment her best friend began talking in the strange, cold tone that she was only used to hearing come from her mother, older brother, and the occasional non-familial adult when they were displeased with her, Maddie was in complete and utter shock. If the situation wasn't so serious, the tall blonde's jaw properly would have literally dropped in awe and disbelief. She was so caught off-guard that her normally constant train of thoughts came to a complete stand still, and for the first time in her entire life, Madeleine Girard didn't know what to say or how to respond to the questions that had been posed at her. She sat frozen, hardly able to breath, visibly flinching at the harsh words coming out of Sabbie's mouth. Needing a way to compensate for the sudden rush of negative feelings, the despondent girl began nervously wrapping her long, thick hair around her fingers, unable to look the ballerina in the eye as she turned to practically glare at Maddie with an unrecognizably angry and repulsed look on her face.

The Papillonlisse's heart finally broke after months of trying to stay strong and upbeat for an entire household of people. It had been bearable when she'd believed she was being helpful and making a real difference in her best friend's life, but obviously that wasn't the case, at least not anymore. Sabrina did hate her and no longer wanted her around. She'd now made that very clear. The highly sensitive and emotional witch began to cry at that realization, tears slowly and silently trickling down her face and into her lap. Before she broke out into proper sobs, Maddie gasped out a quick "I-I'm so sorry" and quickly stood up, beginning to briskly walk back towards the Sasseville's house. She'd never wanted to leave the big, beautiful home so much as she did in that moment, and it was a very sad and troubling thought for the 16-year-old. What was she going to do now, without her best friend, without her second family? The unimaginable thought broke her sobs free of the shaky hold she'd had on them, and the miserable teenager picked up her pace, now practically running away from the person she cared for most in the world.

Stay calm. Stay calm. The mantra continued in a never-ending loop in her head as she tried to keep it together like she had done all year. If she could do it then, she could it at that moment too. Maddie was so air-headed, Sabrina thought, that it was the only reason she'd been able to get away with her odd behaviour with her as long as she had. It was something that the Sasseville had always had a love-hate relationship with, after all, it was one of Maddie's most endearing traits, but it was also a trait that contributed to this whole mess. The Girard witch reached out and grabbed Sabbie's hand and the sickly witch tensed up at the sudden contact just as a cool gush of wind swirled past them, rustling the beautiful bright green leaves of the large tree they were under and causing some weaker leaves to snap off the tree and twirl gracefully around in the air before coming to rest on the delicate blades of dewy green grass at the witches' feet. Whether it was the sudden chill of the breeze or the uncomfortable contact, Sabs wasn't sure, caused the brunette to involuntary shudder. The usually witty teenager was about to point out to the blonde witch that she had already asked her two more questions, but Sabrina had had enough of playing games. "Go ahead," she replied monotonously, ripping her hand away from Maddie's as the other witch squeezed it.

Sabbie felt guilty immediately after she saw her friend's alarm out of the corner of her eye. The ill Sasseville felt so many things. So many conflicting emotions and she didn't know which one to focus on at that moment. She felt guilty, she felt trapped, and all the Papillonlisse wanted to do was let out her bottled emotions and just scream. Madeleine's shock at her behaviour was more than evident as the normally overly-talkative girl said nothing and just took her biting remarks with a flinch. The guilt Sabs originally felt was suddenly replaced with a triumphant smirk, momentarily glad that Maddie may have finally got the message.

At least, that was the case, until the blonde girl started to cry. The Sasseville jumped back from Maddie, her smirk wiped from her face and replaced with a look of horror and a furrowed brow as her hands came up to her face as she gasped. Maddie was actually... crying? With proper tears and everything? Sabrina had never seen her best friend cry. Maddie had seen the ballerina cry more than a few times over the course of their friendship but Maddie had never cried in front of Sabbie. The Sasseville didn't even realise it was possible, the Girard was always so happy! All of Sabrina's antagonistic thoughts harboured towards Madeleine shattered in an instant as the blonde girl apologised and the Papillonlisse hung her head in shame as her already broken heart continued to break even more. All the anger built up in her mind turned towards herself. What a horrible, cruel human being she was. Sabbie felt in that moment that she deserved all the suffering she'd ever had, and would continue to have until the day she died.

The ballerina looked up to find an empty bench and a moving figure hastily running away from her. The chilly Summer breeze picked back up again and worked in Sabbie's favour as it hastened her departure from her seated position on the bench. The weak witch grimaced at the distance between them already, she wouldn't let Maddie leave. She regretted what she said! "Wait, please!" Sabrina begged, her voice cracking with the heavy emotion behind it as her weak, skeletal frame tried its best to catch up to the retreating figure. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it!" Sabrina pleaded as her body wobbled like a newborn deer and she dropped onto her hands and knees, tears welling as her hands slapped the ground, green blades of grass peeking through her hands, miniature stones of brown and grey colours digging into her palms, and the dewiness of the grass causing brown soil to stick to Sabbie's hands, the wet, rich and loamy grains lodging themselves into the scratches that the sharp stones caused, making her hiss as it stung. Sabrina had finally done what she wanted to do for months, drive her best friend away, but now that she had lost her best friend forever she felt awful. She had nothing left now. Nothing. The ballerina's frail body shook as she took loud, shuddering sobs that caused her entire body to convulse, as she whimpered "Please, come back! Come back! I'm sorry!"