CURSED [D.M]

-(61) it knows her

ZILLIAH sits on the chair in a black mid-length frock, her mother's casket right in front of her. She wants to cry. She wants to scream. But all she can do is sit there, hollow, lifeless, empty.

She can see Theseus in a black suit approaching her from her peripheral vision. But she ignores him as she doesn't have it in her to talk to anyone right now, especially him. Not with that face that is hautingly similar. Not with all the bad memories that threaten to draw back to the surface every damn time she looks at him. He seats himself beside her, clasping his hands and placing them on his knees as he leans forward. "Malfoy", he says, catching Zilliah's attention at once, "won't be able to attend the funeral."

"Oh", it's a mere whisper from her mouth. She feels utterly desolate knowing she can't seek refugee in Draco's chest from this disastrous pain.

"Yeah", he goes on, "He sent his patronus letting me know that. Also, he told me not to tell you this but he helped us recover Daphne's body."

She can't help but snap her head at him, "What? How did he-"

"He was there, Zilliah", Theseus meets her eyes, and she can see that there are tears threatening to flow from them. "He was there when she died."

Shocked would be an understatement for what Zilliah feels right now. Draco had held her to his chest, cradling her, comforting her, when she was crying her heart out over losing her mother. But he was there when it happened. He was there. And he never told her a damn thing about it.

"She saw me as her own son", a tear escapes Theseus' eyes and runs down his cheek, his gaze focused on the body that lays unmoving in the casket. She doesn't know how to feel about that statement. Not when she didn't even feel like a daughter to her mother. Just a mere liability.

And considering that, she shouldn't be feeling this much pain at the loss of a mother that was never there. But then why?

Why does she feel like her heart is splintered into a thousand pieces? Why does she feel like all the life in her has drained away? All Daphne gave her was fragmented and vague memories, not even a complete explanation for why she couldn't be the mother Zilliah needed. Then why?

Theseus touches Zilliah's elbow with his', making her snap out of her thoughts, "The ceremony's starting."

She sees Mira Price walking upto the casket, muttering a prayer under her breath. The whole crowd stands up and Zilliah has to ask for Theseus' help to do the same as all her bones seemed to feel like pieces of wood at that moment. He puts his strong arms around her and lifts her, keeping her close to his side, his hands clutching onto her. He doesn't let go of her once throughout the whole of it. She's sure she would've fallen to the ground if he did.

The prayer ends and everyone takes a seat. Mira looks at Zilliah and she instantly understands what she means. It's time for the eulogy. Her mind draws a blank. She has no words to speak. She has no memories to share. She knows if she goes there, all she can do is stare into open space, her lips clipped.

She turns to Theseus and tells him, "You should do this."

"Me?", he asks, taken aback.

"I'm not quite sure I have anything to say. But I know you do. So please."

Theseus looks into her eyes for a brief moment before nodding and straightening his bow, walking up to his grandmother. Zilliah looks down onto her hands clasped at her lap as he clears his throat and begins.

"Daphne was a good queen. Empathetic. Understanding. Protective. We all know her that way. But I have known her to be more than a queen. She has been my mother ever since my real mother died. That day at my mother's funeral, she held me in her arms as I cried my heart out. She told me I'll never be alone as long as she's alive. She never tried to replace my mother, no. She told me no one can do that. But she filled up some of the empty spaces of my heart with her love and her care.."