fated & cursed.

proper ladies didn't sneak away from parties being hosted by their family, but ever since meeting jacks only a few months ago — aurora found herself less and less inclined to be a proper lady, until she had shirked her responsibilities all together. under the moonlight, the beauty laid on her back. her hands resting on her stomach, blonde curls strewn about around her on the floor of a garden gazebo that truthfully was a little worse for wear, forgotten about in the back corner of her family's country chateau; but that was what made it so perfect. no one would venture so far out from the main house and certainly wouldn't have expected her to. though it had gotten late into the night, she was hesitant to return home. the night was her time with jacks, even if for reasons she didn't understand.

" tell me the truth. " aurora said softly, not in an accusatory way but an innocent one. her crystalline gaze drifted from the moon to the man beside her — aurora would admit that she was enamored by him and would do nothing to change that. " why can't you come to my birthday gala next week? " she had her own suspicions. he never met her in the daytime — the heiress wondered if she was his secret, if he hid her from the rest of his life for reasons she could not discern. though, that theory didn't entirely add up, since he had been seen by society with her at evening parties.

"i told you, i'm busy." jacks responds, slender fingers twisting mindlessly around a strand of her golden hair. it wasn't that jacks wasn't interested in attending — the vampire enjoyed aurora's company enough to repeatedly seek her out. it was just that the gala was an all day event ( nothing less for the heiress ), and the sun was a logistical problem that jacks would rather just avoid altogether... not to mention jacks wasn't a fan of birthdays to begin with. it was a senseless waste of time for someone who'd lived as long as he.

she heard it loud and clear, the gasps the murmurs around them as france's princess displayed a horrific lack of manners — truthfully, aurora found herself enjoying the kiss with jacks far, far too much. so much so, that when he pulled away; the princess couldn't help but lurch forward slightly, chasing after his lips. it had been intoxicating, like something she had never dreamed of experiencing and now she found herself unable to think of anything else.

her gaze was locked with his, but she was dazed — distracted by how the room seemed to spin. his touch on her cheeks was so tender, so soft. aurora truly could've stayed here forever, forgetting all about the audience for the display they just on. the princess didn't care what others thought, she knew her prospects wouldn't be entirely ruined — there were people out there who cared more about her crown and her father's money then they cared about having a proper wife. though, if she were honest, she didn't care at all. if she had her way, she wouldn't be forced to marry anyone except someone she loved. someone she connected with. someone who wouldn't care that she chose to spend her first year on the marriage mart fooling around with a scoundrel.

her cheeks were already flushed from the heat she felt between the two of them, but then she grew embarrassed by his taunt. " jacks! " snapped from her trance by his words, the princess exclaimed his name as improperly as their kiss had been. yet despite her embarrassment . . . she felt her heart sink when he let go of her face. she hadn't been ready to break this illusion, not just yet. a breathy laugh escaped her, " — i am french after all, i suppose it came naturally. " aurora smirked, trying to shake away the ache she felt in her chest by playing along with his taunt; but she failed to hide how her gaze fell back to his lips for a brief moment. oh, how this was so very bad. this was exactly what he was known for and yet aurora felt herself slipping right into the trap. this was her game, her ruse and her idea to avoid the marriage mart — she wasn't supposed to fall into his rakish games. she wanted his help, an old friend helping another. that was all this was supposed to be.

jacks doesn't miss the way aurora practically chases after him when he pulls them apart. in fact, he has to move his hands down to her shoulders to steady her, which elicits a dimpled grin. jacks knew he was good, but he always appreciated when he could tell his partner was aware of it too. it inflated his already enlarged ego.

his eyes shimmers with mirth at the improper use of his name. while he was used to aurora scolding him like this ( growing around each other allowed for certain levels of indecency ), the majority of the ton were either unaware of their long-standing friendship or were of high company, and the slip-up wasn't typical, especially not from the sweet princess of france. "i wonder what else you can pick up naturally." jacks muses thoughtfully. his rakish reputation wasn't far off from his truth, and so his flirtatious mannerisms and jests slip out instinctively, even towards his oldest friend. jacks catches when aurora's gaze drops to his lips, and the gesture prompts a raised brow and a coy taunt on the tip of his tongue. but before he could tease her, she's stepping away from him. the crowd practically swallows the princess from his sight. curious eyes track the way couples and groups swerve and weave around what seemed to be aurora. but jacks doesn't move. he isn't tactless. he waits a moment, taking his time at the refreshment table before slipping out of the room and following her out to the gardens.

At his question, her heart quickens     ;    the image of the memory fragment appears in her mind. The two hugged on a bed, in a room that Evangeline didn't recognize. She blushed at what could have happened there, even though it seemed like just an innocent hug. Even so, Evangeline looked like she was going to combust. Then she turned her back and walked towards the dressing table in the room, stopping in front of the mirror. She needed to keep some distance from Jacks too     —    Evangeline didn't trust herself around him and she was still trying to get her ideas straight. Trying to decipher what that memory was    (  and she doubted Jacks would explain anything  ).

❝  I’m  sorry,  did  I  wake  you  up ?  ❞    Evangeline  asks      ;     she  had  gone  to  the  window  to  take  out  a  small  dragon  that  was  tapping  on  the  glass,  wearing  @broknheart ‘s  white  shirt    (  which  was  too  big  on  her  )    when  she  got  out  of  bed.

jacks's voice was rough and groggy with sleep. the fate hadn't been much of a sleeper ( unless he was wounded or infected with vampire venom ) until he started sharing a bed with evangeline. he was always pulled to sleep after a long night of intimacy. hell, jacks's certain even just holding evangeline would knock him out. "and what if what it was wasn't a small dragon?" jacks asks, brows furrowing and lips pouting. leave it to jacks to be the pessimist. "someone could have knocked on the glass to kill you — did you ever think of that?"

this twisted cycle was the essence of jacks and aurora's relationship. the two were always trying to outdo the other in the worst ways possible. despite knowing the patterns, jacks had become far too invested in aurora to step back and let her go now. it was why he was still with her even after finding out she had cursed him.

“ jacks, “ it was almost against her will, how her voice faltered when saying his name and her violet gaze began to water with tears. she didn’t want to believe his words were true, couldn’t believe it — because even if they were, it didn’t change how she felt. it just meant he was right and she was an idiot. she couldn’t fall out of love with him at the drop of a hat, at his bequest. “ if being in love with you makes me an idiot, then so be it! i will happily be a foolish princess, in love with the wrong person. “ but she didn’t think he was the wrong person. every touch, every laugh, every snarky remark between them felt right — even now.

his words were cold and harsh, unlike the warm taunts he always gave her. he backed away from her, yet she took steps towards him; refusing to create any larger of a gap between them. “ but i will!“ the princess retorted, “ i’ll make that mistake over and over again, don’t you get that? “ it was too late. it was far, far too late to ask her for any of this. the more she went on, the more it hurt — and now, the tears flowed down her rosy cheeks, somehow as graceful as she. she did trust him. she trusted him with her heart; even if he chose to break it in the end.

jacks was emanating a type of tension and frigidity that could be sliced cleanly with a dagger if it was a tangible thing. it was clear to jacks that he had waited too long to do this. he curses himself for prolonging it, for being selfish and allowing this thing between them to fester. "stop saying that." jacks snarls. her continued use of the word love was poison — it burned and ached in his chest. the more she said it, the more he feared it would numb him to the point of acceptance.

he glares at aurora when she steps towards him. jacks wants to put his hands out, stop her from getting any closer to him. but he doesn't trust himself not to reach out, and so he keeps his arms glued to his side, fists clenched so tight that his knuckles pale. "you have no sense of self preservation." jacks grits out. it was a quality he once found stupidly endearing but was now wretchedly infuriating. jacks was an inherently possessive and protective being, and her blind faith created opportunities for jacks to intervene and keep her safe — who else was going to? he realizes now that he miscalculated. jacks wanted her to himself now, and it would not end well for her because it never ended well for him.

It's hard to push him away when she wants him close ; Evangeline has found herself thinking several times if what Aphrodite said to her a few years ago was true and if she hadn't already experienced the love tragedy when her first boyfriend died if she wasn't already free from the curse — free to finally be able to love without feeling afraid of what might happen to the other person. Evangeline remembered a conversation she had with Silena. Tragedy would always find a way to get to her, because Evangeline is a demigod and tragedy always finds demigods one way or another ( there was no way to avoid the inevitable, that's what she heard from her older half-sister ) and Silena had also said not to let fear take over Evangeline's life, that she was supposed to enjoy the moment.