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Slow motion, that's what it felt like. Everything happened in slow motion. Seconds spanned like hours in her mind, hours of confrontation.
But she tore her eyes from the page, closing them with a shaky breath that set her mind in stone. When her crystal orbs opened, looking towards the door, she knew what she had to do.
With haste, she ran to the door, throwing it open.
Ivar was stood there, a cocky smirk pressed into his lips as he looked at her. He knew. Of course he knew. He could see what people would do before they even knew it themselves.
Her breathing was rugged, eyes wide as she tried to calm herself and steady each breath. Slowly, she regained herself, looking back at him again with fear in her eyes.
"I can't lose you." She announced finally, heart beating so hard in her chest that she feared it might burst out.
"I know." He answered with a shrug, showing himself back inside her small apartment space with a grin.
But Ailbe shook her head. That wasn't all. If she was going to chose him over everything else, there was something that he was going to have to know. Something she couldn't keep to herself anymore. She had to tell him. It was now or never.
She grabbed his hand, pulling his attention towards her. That same look of terror remained on her face as she looked up at him, like a permanent fixture. "If I'm going to drop all of this, everything, for you then... I need to tell you..." He looked back at her impatiently, as though he couldn't stand her indecisiveness and simply wanted this to be done and over with so that they could continue their lives in his fast paced world. "Ivar I-"
But before she could even say a word he interrupted suddenly. "I love you."
It was what they were both thinking, and he knew it would take her an eternity to find the right words. For some reason, around her, he was calm. He wasn't sure if it was influences from this past life they may have lived, though his rational mind fought against such a concept, but he knew that he never felt paranoid or suspicious with her. Curious perhaps, but he felt as though he could trust her with anything - as though he'd known her for a thousand years.
Ailbe's eyes widened as she looked back at him and for a moment she thought her heart had stopped beating entirely. Quickly, a smile spread across her lips, a smile of pure joy that could light up any cold Norwegian night. "I love you too." She jumped up kissing him, which in turn seemed to catch him of guard. She supposed at least they were even in that respect.
As they parted, she stayed close to him with a sigh, her head resting on his shoulder. His arms slowly wrapped around her, holding her close as though he'd never be able to let her go. Like he would protect her from anything and everything. And, for the first time in her life, she felt safe.
"I won't let you die." He told her, pulling her even closer.
For a moment she smiled, her tears receding, but as her eyes opened her smile faded. The sunlight caught the yellowed paper, making it almost glow like gold. Her eyes glanced the words, those that had made him so afraid, and she wondered what would happen now.
Some part of her still felt this inevitability, as though her fate had already been decided. Like no decision she made could change what was coming.
