If she missed me, why didn't she come for me? If she missed me, why tell me to get away from her?
Before I could stop myself, the words were already out of my mouth.
"Who took care of the wounds he reopened?" the words tumbled out of my mouth and I regretted them the second I said them. I heard the witch click her tongue in disapproval, her cold voice bringing me down again.
I paused, confusion flickering across my features. What, had he suddenly grown a conscience? Taking my time, I turned around to face him once more, never faltering once. "No one. Whenever one of us tried to go near him, he panicked. Accidentally Sang us away. We couldn't go near him or the healer's. I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you know the reason why?"
I ran a hand through my hair, cursing inaudibly.
“He’s been left untreated for a week?” I repeated. What the hell? Was she an idiot? Why would she do such a stupid thing? She could have had Scylla do it for her, so why didn’t she? “I… do know the reason. I can’t say. It’s not my place to.”
My ass, I thought sarcastically, but didn't voice the thought. "To the extent of my knowledge. His bondmate might have done something to help, but there's no way I can be sure. But, forgive me if I'm a bit confused, Your Highness. You didn't exactly seem to care a second ago. What changed?"
I opened my mouth to speak before closing it shut again.
Sad, isn’t it, my pet? The people you care about pretend and pretend, and when you hide your hurt, suddenly you’re the monster…
I gritted my teeth, clenching my fists. Shut up, witch.
“Even if I cared,” I started slowly, hiding my expressions. “What good would it bring?”
I stared at him incredulously. "Elliot is crying nightly. He's slowly breaking to pieces, however much he tries to hide it. And you think it doesn't matter if you care? God, Colton."
Colton. God, how much I’ve started to hate that name—hate my existence altogether. Why can’t you just kill me and get it over with? Why resort to torture—why resort to breaking me down?
“The fact that he hasn’t approached me even once… if he missed me truly, he would have. You can think of me as a monster, Andreas. I accept my image. I can fully accept the fact that I’m heartless, uncaring, undeserving. But if there’s one thing I cannot stand, it’s when people pretend. Let’s get one thing straight. I cared. In the end, what did I get? Absolutely nothing. I cared and he slapped it right on to my face. I cared and he shoved me away, because I’m a monster. Because he’s afraid. Funny, isn’t it? I’ve never harmed him, yet he’s afraid. I’ve never intended to harm him, yet he thinks of me as a monster.” I said occasionally letting out a humorless laugh, my words turning colder, the air around me getting thinner. I was truly done playing this game. Wasn’t I human, too? Or just because I was the fucking prince, I didn’t feel any pain? Because I was royalty, basic human emotions didn’t apply to me? Because I’m a prince, I’ve been handed everything on a silver platter. I’ve never worked hard for anything in my life. I was tired of it all.
That’s right, Colton… That’s all these people think. They don’t respect you—they fear for their lives, so they grovel before you. You could die and they wouldn’t care. You’re just a pawn to them—disposable.
I know.
Come to me, Colton. Give yourself to me.
What makes you any different?
I can give you a purpose. Stop rejecting me, Colton. I can give you what you want.
I took a deep breath, closing my eyes. When I opened them again, my heart was just as cold as the woman inside of my head.
”Maybe next time, try doing some research before you point fingers, Andreas.”
I turned my back on him, and finished with what I said, I began to walk away. If you want me to be a monster, I can be a monster.
I stood there for a long time, trying to wrap my head around the onslaught of information.
I cared and he slapped it right on to my face.
In the end, what did I get? Absolutely nothing.
I’ve never intended to harm him, yet he thinks of me as a monster.
No. It couldn't be true. It wasn't possible. Elliot? Sweet, sensitive, playful Elliot, manipulating the person he'd fallen for like that? Something else must have happened, something that either of them weren't mentioning. Something horrible enough to have terrified my best friend into pushing the Prince away.
I felt confused, not knowing what to think. Disoriented. And another thing—Guilty.
Maybe next time, try doing some research before you point fingers, Andreas.
When I was by myself, I leaned against a wall, taking deep breaths. I couldn’t breathe. I felt like I was suffocating—everything inside of me hurt.
What do you want, Colton?
”Kill me,” I whispered shakily.
I can’t do that, love. How will you prove your worth if you’re dead?
”Please, Mistress. I can’t take this anymore.”
Stay strong, my dear. You have to.
”No…” I breathed, eyes wide. ”Please. I’m begging you.”
I received no response. Just like that, she was gone. When had I become so pathetic? When had I given up? Why was it so easy for her to manipulate me, to push me over the edge—so easy for her to make me beg for death?
I didn’t know how long I stayed there, but eventually Key showed up. As always, he wrapped me up in his wing, nuzzling my neck.
“What did I do to deserve this, Key…?” I murmured, my hold on him tightening. ”Why can’t I just be happy…?”
(Ask your evil writers…)
(Ask your evil writers…)
(😉)
(huffs)
(rip…..)
[TIME SKIP - Elle's POV, one day later]
As it turned out, I'd never known the true meaning of guilt before.
Not like this, anyways. It plagued me every second of the day. Kept me up at night, along with my relentless nightmares. Everything reminded me of him—I'd even thought that Kaden was him for a brief, soaring second.
What have I done?
Yes, I'd been terrified. I'd felt betrayed. I'd felt sick to my core after he'd touched me. But the way I'd reacted to the change of tone, the flashing of black eyes…. That was unforgivable. He'd told me to leave, trying to protect me—And instead, I'd taken his mind by force and made him go.
And he hadn't returned since.
To make matters worse, Andreas had returned from the library yesterday, his face ashen. He wouldn't give me details, only said that he'd talked to Colton. I knew that my secret hadn't been given away, otherwise he'd have been just as angry and betrayed as the prince had been a week ago. So—what had happened? Worry gnawed away at him. Had I hurt Colton worse than I'd thought?
Kaden’s POV:
“Andreas?” I whispered, touching my boyfriend’s arm softly. “What’s wrong?”
Honestly, I still couldn’t wrap my fingers around what happened. Everything was just so… weird. Prince Colton was nowhere to be seen. My best friend wouldn’t speak to us. My boyfriend looked horrible. What was going on? We’d all been happy before. What changed?
Andreas’s POV:
A day had passed since my conversation with the Prince. A day of confusion, of guilt. In short, an utterly horrible one.
Now, I sat on my bed, fingers twined loosely through Kaden’s. He spoke, and my eyes dropped to the floor. “I…. Yestersay..”
I pulled him closer to myself.
“Tell me,” I kissed him on the head. “What’s wrong?”
The whole story came spilling out. Confronting Colton, his apathetic replies. How I’d moved to walk away, how he’d asked a desperate question. The rest of the whole mess.
I buried my face in my boyfriend’s shoulder, struggling to keep my hands from burning up.
I hugged him tightly.
“It isn’t your fault,” I murmured. “You were only trying to look out for Elliot. And really, the only thing we can do is cheer him up. This whole issue between them both… we can’t step in. They have to solve this on their own.”
How was it that he could lift my spirits this easily? Honest to God, Kaden was a miracle. An angel who had flown down from heaven. What had I done to deserve him?
“You’re right… lets go talk to him. Distract him from his thoughts.”
I kissed him softly before standing up, linking our fingers together. He was just so caring… God, I liked him so much.
“C’mon, the sooner, the better, right?”
“Yeah,” I agreed, and though it was selfish of me, pressed my nose against his. “One more kids before we go?”
I responded by pressing our lips together, wrapping my arms around him, pulling him closer.
“You just need to ask…”
I think I’m in love with you, Kaden.
Naturally, I didn’t voice the thought aloud, only succumbed to his gentle touch.
“You taste like caramel…” I mumbled quietly into Kaden’s mouth, suddenly unable to pull away.
I smiled against his lips, gently caressing his cheek.
“Maybe because you’ve been feeding me too many of them?” I teased, pulling away a little. I kissed him on the cheek. “C’mon, before we get carried away, let’s cheer up Eli.”
I rubbed our noses together one last time before pulling away and placing a hand on my doorknob. This was our life now, our secret, thrilling, beautiful life behind closed doors, and I absolutely loved it. But right now, there was something more pressing at hand.
Thoug I wanted nothing more than to show off Andreas to the world, I couldn’t. We wouldn’t be accepted, and I didn’t want Andreas going through something like that.
Our fingers unlinked and I found the urge to link them again, missing his warmth. Finally, we knocked on Elliot’s door.
“Elliot, it’s is,” I said softly. “Can we come in?”
We were greeted with silence. Just when I thought that he was either asleep or really didn’t want company, his familiar, quivering voice sounded.
“Come in.”
I opened the door slowly, looking inside and was immediately hit with sadness.
Elliot was curled up on the bed. He didn’t even bother raising his head. Scylla was wrapped around him, giving him warmth.
“Hey, there,” I said softly, walking over to him. “How are you, Eli?”
Elliot made no reply, and it broke my heart. Carefully, as if approaching a skittish wild animal, I kneeled by his bedside.
“I must look so pathetic…” he murmured to us, staying perfectly still. But both Kaden and I thought the opposite. We saw him in class, in the hallways, his head held high, not a trace of this melancholy on his face. He kept himself together until he got back… And that was definitely more than I could say for myself.