CURSED [D.M]

-(77) give me his world

ZILLIAH immerses herself in all the books propped open upon the library table. She goes through hundreds of texts on their mythology and in every single one of them- every single fucking one of them- there is nothing but pure lies. It infuriates her so much so that she is tempted to gather the whole of it and throw it into a fire, burning the whole library down with it, burning this whole goddamn hidden haven down with it. Sentence after sentence, deceit and cover-ups corrupt the true essence of everything that happened five hundred years ago. It paints their relationship as the sole thing for the destruction of their island. It taints her legacy, her image, her love, in the most utterly infuriating manner ever known to man. She gets up from her seat and walks to and fro, breathing into her hands to calm the anger that rises within her. She gathers the lower part of Draco's blue sweater that she is currently wearing and bites into it to stop herself from screaming out in pure rage.

She never knew such wicked people could ever exist.

All she ever wanted was love- true love, unconditional in every aspect. And when she finally got her hands on it, they stripped it away from her. Like she did not deserve to even feel the slightest bit of happiness or comfort. Like all she deserved was to rot in that kingdom and be deprived of the real life she had dreamt and hoped for.

"My heart and my soul and my body and my very existence belongs to him, mother! I am wholly his."

"Stop it, Lili! You belong to your people before you belong to anyone else."

Zilliah seats herself in a corner and pulls her knees to her chest, all the painful memories that had remained behind a barrier all this while, drawing back up to the surface. She remembers it all now in excruciating detail. And she now understands why she couldn't tear her gaze away from Draco since the very first moment she laid her eyes on him.

"I'll find you, Luci. I'll find you in my next lifetime and in every single one of my lifetimes. I promise we will get the life we want, no matter what. I give you my word, my love."

Tears flow down her cheeks at the memory of five hundred years of pain, five hundred years of longing, every single second she spent in that spirit realm, craving his touch, his voice, his love, It all rushes to her head, making her shake and sob like a little child.

"Zilliah", she hears someone call and lifts her head to meet them. But she hadn't expected it to be who it is. "What happened?", he asks, lowering himself to the floor on his knees. "Why are you crying? Are you okay?" The worry in him is visible in his tone as he lifts a hand to cup her cheeks.

She flinches away from it and shuts her eyes.

"Zilliah, please", he says, desperation and helplessness woven into the fabric of his voice. "Please, look at me."

But she can't.

She can't because when she looks into those eyes, all she can see is him. All she can see is Ezra- Ezra who she played with- Ezra who she grew up with- Ezra who fell in love with her- Ezra to who she was betrothed- Ezra who put a sword through Luci's heart- Ezra who she beheaded in pure agony.

"I'm sorry", Theseus says, wholly and truly. She knows he is apologizing from his heart. She knows he is someone who doesn't hide behind facades. But Ezra was too.. until he wasn't- until he watched her fall in love with Luci and give him everything Ezra deemed to be his.

A broken heart breaks the mind too.

But she can't let Theseus do that to her in this lifetime. She can't stand having to watch him harm Draco even in the slightest way. She can't lose her Luci- her Draco- her one true love.

"I'm sorry, Zilliah", he speaks over and over again, like a mantra. He apologizes with every bit of his heart and his soul. "I was- I was not myself there. It was like... when you told me about my mom, it was like I had fallen victim to a puppeteer who manipulated my grief into rage at you. I know it was out of your control. You never meant to cause her any harm, I know it was a mistake. I knew that the instant you told me the story too. But, Zilliah, I swear that the person you saw after that wasn't me. It wasn't me."