Animals and Darkness

They have all endured a terrible thing in Marya. She was not a fool to think that everyone in the Shadow kingdom was against Tabea’s ambition and her plans for the destruction of the Kingdoms, but she was not yet pessimistic enough to think that everyone was supporting her. Tragedy was that one of her siblings had supported the queen, the second-eldest brother Cedric. Her heart bled for him and for their sister. “We were all shaken, lady Diaval.” Lamia agreed with a gentle sigh. A smile appeared briefly on her lips as Tavia spoke of her animals with fondness evident in her voice. The brunette was happier being surrounded by them than she was being surrounded by people and the princess of shadows found undeniable wisdom in that.

“I-” She started, uncertain how to proceed. Lamia was happy to call lady Diaval her friend and she did not want to put a strain on their relationship or accidentally offend her or overstep the boundaries that were undoubtedly there. They did not discuss their families, besides a short and polite ‘are they well and healthy?’ But, she was curious. She knew that Seth had had his adventures with women, as did her other two brothers, but she had never seen him dance with either of them except for lady Tavia. That sparked her interest and prompted her to seek out the brunette once the horrors of Marya dwindled into mild discomfort. But, while she was amused and intrigued by her eldest brother’s behaviour, she did not want to see her friend getting hurt. “I do hope you will not get angry with me, Tavia, but I had wanted to talk to you about Seth, if you would permit me to ask it of you.”

Of course.

She really should’ve seen in coming. She should’ve known that they were seen and she should’ve known that a moment of content and happiness would return to smack her straight into the head. She’s wanted to get angry, but there was nothing there to ignite the anger, to spark the fury and Tavia wondered if she could even feel anymore. She’d spent too long as a bird, flying from Marya. Too long as a cat, avoiding her sister and Seth, the source of her current discomfort. She didn’t want to discuss him with his sister. Hell, she didn’t want to discuss him with her own either.

“You may ask, your highness, but I may choose not to answer.” Tavia’s reply came short, a warning sort of bite expected in her voice, but the tone sang dull, void of any true emotion. Somewhere in the back of her brain it started to worry her, but she couldn’t find it in her to truly care about it right now. She’ll think of it later, much later.

With a sigh, she relented.

“Alright. What is it you want to talk to me about? Are you worried about him again? Your brother can fend for himself, your highness.” Tavia said, pretending that it was all Lamia had wanted to know, all that was concerning him.

But, right now it was better to talk about Seth than Heloise.

This night was turning out to be much more strain on the Dark Prince than he believed he could bare. The night was dark and full of shadows as he made his way among them, unafraid as he stepped lightly across the cool grass, tall boots crushing the foliage beneath. He hadn’t changed from the banquet, merely setting out after his argument with Tavia, after calming Lamia, for home.

He and his siblings had been forced to wear many masks this evening, but Seth wore more than most. Doting brother, loyal brother, lord of the Five, Crown Prince to the Shadows. His freedom with Tavia, the carelessness he had felt dancing with her, exploring the hall in Marya, it was the closest he had felt to the memories he was regaining in a long while. And then it was shattered by his sister’s plot. Tabea, the Tabea of now, had ruined the evening and, what was worse, she had done it in some sick, twisted sense of peace.

But this was not peace. Not the way she had originally wanted to achieve it. Yes, Seth had begun to remember, and the woman Tabea was now was not the woman she had once been. And he did not know if she could ever be that person again. What Lamia had said tonight was true. She had become a monster.

Rather than lock himself in his quarters as he had allowed the staff to believe he had done, Seth had scaled down from the balcony of his rooms and begun a long journey into the dark woods. His feet took him where they will, unconcerned about where he ended up. For once, he did not care how tired he looked, how haggard; there was no one out here to see, after all, to care. His state of dress was haphazard at best, anyway, shirt opened to the cool night and dark curls sticking up in every direction from the hands he had run through it.

As they had done numerous times tonight, Seth’s thoughts turned back to Tavia, and to her sister. She and Heloise, from what Seth had heard (and mulled over for the entire remainder of the trek home), had been complacent only by connection. One had been forced and the other…the other had paid a debt she should have never made in the first place. The prince heaved a sigh at the thought, hands burning with flame as they licked up his forearms. He wanted to burn something in his frustration but new starting a fire in the dark forest would help nothing, and no one, save for himself.

Seth came upon a clearing and, at first, his eyes traveled over the woman seated there without care, a cursory glance that yielded little information. But, then, his mind registered who it was that sat there on the grass and the prince startled, stopping abruptly by the treeline, hand curling around a tree trunk to keep himself upright. In the end, he failed, sliding down the tree with a tired chuckle, eyes never leaving Tavia’s face. “I’ve no idea, darling. I was just…walking. Perhaps wishing for some peace of mind or, perhaps, that the forest would swallow me whole. I’ve no true idea. But you…why are you here? Surely you should be with your sister, after such an evening.”

Growl.

Yes, true growl, something that belonged in a throat of a dragon rather than a human woman, left Tavia’s lips at the mention of her sister. She had come here to get away from her, from everyone, and there he was, idly asking of Heloise as if she wasn’t in anguish. There was a cold sort of anger to her growl, something that danced between madness and warning, and she was slowly succumbing to the first of the two. Tired growl of a wounded animal, baring teeth to anyone who dared approach it.

She felt like an animal, a monster, so why shouldn’t she behave as one?

“I never wish to be around that creature again.” Her words were a snakelike hiss, ending in a dark growl as she snapped at the prince seated close to her. She didn’t want him here. She didn’t want for him to see her like this, without control, without... any shred of decency. Tavia began feeling more and more like a caged animal, cornered in her den and waiting for the inevitable; a hunter’s victorious smile or the dark flashing of the monster’s eyes before the white teeth ignite the dark.

She was struggling to remain human, to remain seated like this, so idly in the company of the second to last person she’d wanted to see. In this state, the void that she swallowed in her ‘normal’ moments would now burn white hot, and all the feelings she’d harboured for the dark prince would come flooding in.

So, naturally, she growled in his direction again.

“Why I’m here is my business.” Tavia averted her stare from him, part of her hoping he’d leave her be and part of her hoping he’d stay. Humanity clashed with monstrosity, darkness with abyss and void of emotion, and she didn’t know which one of the wolves inside her would win over the other - the decent one or the monster. “Go home, your highness. You’ll find nothing but wounded creatures here.”

And wounded creatures tend to bite.

Lady Diaval was behaving strangely. She was quite used to brunette’s moods and she was relatively well adept at reading her emotions, but now there was nothing to read. An invisible wall seemed to have surrounded lady Tavia and the princess of shadows frowned in concern at what she was witnessing. She had rarely used her power for any kind of purpose except the training, but she was now tempted to use the power over blood to see what was wrong with her friend. Was she ill or had the horrors in Marya completely worn her down? She had wanted to do it, but it did not seem like a polite thing to do and she did not want to upset the lady any more than she already had, by interrupting her solitude.

“I am sorry if I am intruding, lady Tavia. I had merely wanted to speak to you about something and I thought you might like my company, but if you do not wish to speak with me now I can leave you to your thoughts?” Lamia offered, despite the curiosity of seeing her brother dancing with lady Tavia still pestering her thoughts. “Are your animals well? Was there a problem with them or were you just concerned?”

A heavy sigh left her lips as she shook her head.

Well, now she just felt bad for acting that way towards the princess. Lamia did nothing to warrant such a treatment from her and Tavia offered her an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, your highness. It’s been rough since Marya.” She explained and arched her eyebrow in question at the princess’ offer. She wondered what could it be that Lamia had wanted to talk to her about and her curiosity was piqued.

So long as it wasn’t about him.

At the question of her animals, Tavia’s smile turned warmer. “No, they’re alright. I was just worried something might’ve happened to them in my absence. I’m not used to leaving them alone for so long, but Lys and the rest were fine.” The chimaera was recovering speedily and splendidly, Ophelia’s handiwork more than admirable.

Until the price had come to be payed.

But, she wouldn’t think of it now. Not now. Later. “What was it that you’d wanted to talk to me about?” Tavia asked, tilting her head in question as her eyes fixed upon the golden haired princess. “I do wish to speak with you. Always. I’m sorry for being so... unapproachable.”

Days after their return from Marya had been a blur of unrelated things and dreaded sentiments. Lamia could still not come with the terms of what her sister had done and the things which had appeared at king Ethan’s birthday celebration have been unnatural. Her tutor had been one of the accomplices to her sister’s devious plans and it had left the princess of shadows with a bitter taste in her mouth. She felt that if she continued taking lessons from lady Nessa, she would be silently betraying and defying their cause, the cause which she had shared with Seth and Elias. Dethroning her sister now seemed like the most reasonable, if not most urgent and needed, thing to be done, but she did not enjoy thinking about it. Tabea was still her sister and she still loved her deeply and dearly, harbouring all hope that she could, maybe within a reasonable amount of time, realise her errors and remember who she had been before her spell had gone wrong.

Walking aimlessly and mindlessly around the Shadow kingdom, Lamia diverted her gaze from the path ahead and towards the very edge of the woods and a solitary oak which had stood as a warning guardian a few yards before the edge of the forest. Frowning, the princess of shadows made out a familiar appearance of lady Diaval, the elder of the two sister, and immediately she had remembered - she had remembered seeing her dancing with her eldest brother, with Seth and being naturally curious she had vowed to grill one of them to death about it. They could all use some diversion and happiness, her big brother above all else was deserving of it. But, she would not think of it without having all the information and, in the commotion of the last two days, she had completely forgotten to ask them about it.

Deciding the rectify the situation right that instant, Lamia approached lady Diaval with a friendly smile, but her light hearted greeting was cut short by lady Tavia’s words. Frowning, she sat herself beside the brunette despite the woman’s words and asked with a concerned frown, “Goodness, my lady Diaval, are you unwell? Would you like me to fetch you someone? Heloise? My brother, perhaps?” She could not stop herself from asking.

The only thing Tavia could do when the princess sat beside her, was to sigh.

The day’s been tiring as it was, every waking moment a tiring burden to her. She would’ve liked to turn herself into something earthly now and just slither away if she could, as far away from all the problems as she could.

But, alas, it was not her fate nor her day.

The princess’ concern was evident in her voice and Tavia felt a bit bad for dismissing her so rudely, but then Lamia mentioned Heloise and her melancholy resurfaced, mixed with something that bordered on defeat and sorrow. She’d feared her bond with her sister was not completely devastated, ruined beyond repair for what Heloise had done, but lady Diaval just found herself falling into the same “what if I’d done something more unforgivable to warrant it?” loop.

And then she’d mentioned him.

Seth.

If there was an ounce in her body that could feel something like surprise, she would’ve gaped at Lamia as if she were a strange creature emerging from the very depths of the ocean. But, at this point, there was no more strength in her left to be surprised. Part of her was curious to how she’d found them out, part of her didn’t really care, and part of her was just... blank. She really didn’t want to do this, so the best thing she could do in hopes for the princess to let it go, was to play as dumb as possible.

“I’m well, just not in the greatest of moods. I’ve been a little worn out by my animals.” It wasn’t a downright lie, but while she was friendly with Lamia, they weren’t exactly close friends. “There’s no need to fetch anybody, but thank you for the offer.” She politely dismissed, deciding it best to just not comment about the princess’ brother, the brother who had been her close companion for a good while now.

But, Tavia no longer had any friends; not even a sister to call a friend.

Seeing her sister acting like that, brought a flood of guilt, overflowing her heart with each hesitant drum. Tavia didn’t deserve to suffer like this & she didn’t deserve to be used like that & all for having a kind heart & an extraordinary amount of compassion for the animals. Ophelia shouldn’t have done this. Using Heloise’s dream potions was one thing, it wasn’t directly her fault. People feared dreams since the dawn of time & she did make them neutral. It wasn’t her fault that Ophelia dropped a few drops of poison that had induced vivid & horrid nightmares. That was out of Heloise’s hands; she was just clearing a debt after all.

But, her sister’s monsters were another thing entirely, wearing people down with beating fear, eerie howls & shadowy figures that nearly drove the Five kingdoms to the brink of madness. What happened tonight was far worse & she knew her sister would blame herself for it. But, she didn’t for Tavia to take it to such lengths. Swallowing a lump which formed in her throat, Hel approached the brunette & seated herself on a sofa beside her sister’s. “It’s not that, Tavi, it’s something else. It’s older & it’s about us.”

That captured her attention.

Tavia frowned as she watched her younger sister take a seat beside her. Shifting lightly on the sofa, the lady Diaval rotated herself so that she faced the petite blonde, who harboured a rather guilty looking expression. Her mind took her to the nightmares that had plagued the Kingdoms and she realised that Heloise had had a helping hand in them. But, knowing that it was probably done as a way of clearing out Tavia’s debts, the brunette found herself taking the blame for it. Her sister would’ve never been in that ordeal if it hadn’t been for her and her desire to resurrect any deceased animal under her guidance and care.

She listened to Heloise speaking and wondered if there was something else that was wrong.

“You sound troubled, Heloise.” Tavia noticed, frowning in concern that surfaced from the numbness. “What do you mean when you say “older” and “about us”?”

The night hadn’t exactly gone according to her hopes, but if she were honest, she didn’t exactly expect it do go smoothly. She should’ve known back when lady Nessa asked for her dream-free dream potions, that something iffy was at play, but she had a debt to pay & not even her own. For her sister she’d do anything & most of the protectiveness & willingness to do about anything stemmed from the deeply, deeply rooted guilt she’s harboured thanks to her quick temper & a vengeance she prayed she’d never feel to such an extent again.

She’d cursed her sister. Granted, it had only happened once, long ago, but her sister had nearly been driven mad by the nightmare’s Heloise had given her after a stupid sisterly quarrel they’ve had about gods remember what. She didn’t remember everything, but she remembers enough, fragments of memories returning to her occasionally in her dreams. But, she’d been too afraid to use a memory-inducing dream spell  on herself to remember more; she’d been too afraid of what she might discover about herself.

By chance & Fate’s cruel meddling, Heloise was separated from her sister when the panic started at the supposed resurrection of the dead. & now, over an hour later, Hel sought out her sister with the memories weighing on her conscious. She knew Tavia would be in no mood to sleep & she’d known that half of the reason was, ultimately, Heloise’s fault. One glance at her sister, her mind was made up despite the throbbing pain in her head which threatened her with an aneurysm - all out of fear & guilt.

Heloise approached her sister, her voice soft & hesitant as she called out to her; “Tav? Are you alright? Can we - can we talk about something?”

She was seated beside the fireplace in the parlour of her home, staring, but not seeing the fire that burned and cackled, the flames licking and eating away the firewood. The fire had seemed to have hypnotised her, but truthfully she was simply too numb to recognise or feel anything.

She wondered if she’s even still alive.

Maybe she had perished without knowing, a disembodied spirit haunting the confinements of her home, leaving the world and realms to their own fight. Maybe she’d died of guilt and remorse, self resentment for being so naive and stupid, and trusting people. She shouldn’t have trusted anyone except for her sister and Seth, who’d somehow fit into the picture but she wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up resenting her for what she’d done. She would. She does.

Hearing her sister’s voice behind her did little to break her dull stare from the fire, but Tavia found herself preparing to answer with a lie to her question anyway, before her brain caught up with the tone of Heloise’s voice. “What do you want to talk about? Tonight’s events? I’d rather skip it, if you don’t mind. I don’t want to talk about it.”

Seth quirked a brow, amused as he stared down at her, chin still caught between his fingers. He flicked his thumb out and pressed it into the corner of her mouth, his good humor still lingering in his eyes as he waited for her to speak. It seems he has disarmed his lady, hasn’t he? And what a thought that was, in truth, the ability to disarm Lady Diaval.

The prince caught her looking towards where their siblings stood and he followed her gaze for a moment, standing so close there was no way it would not be taken for intimacy. Yet, there was a recklessness pounding in his heart, thumming through his veins, that almost wanted someone to see. Someone other than the man that was still standing there, so rudely staring. Seth glared at the man over the top of Tavia’s head, the cold look easily getting the lord to flee.

Good. He was of no consequence, anyhow.

His attention turned back to her when Tavia finally spoke, and a low chuckle, breathed out on a huff of breath, shook his shoulders. Still, his hand slid from her face to trail the tips of his fingers down her arm, grasping her hand and placing it in the crook of his elbow, tone teasing. “You make it sound like such a chore, Tavia. Do I trod on your feet so much?”

He moved them towards the floor as another song began, fingers laced with hers as they stood across from one another, the jaunty tune of a reel making him roll his eyes. “Must they,” he grumbled, but allowed himself to leap into the familiar steps, all the same.

This was certainly a step out of the ordinary.

It wasn’t so surprising of him to put on an act or two for the world, but she had never seen this chirpy persona up close and she was honestly feeling half amused and half confused. And fully flustered, of course, but he needn’t know that. No one needed to know that, her sister included, which is why she cast another careful glance Heloise’s way, failing to notice the daggers Seth was mentally throwing the Maryan lord’s way.

Sometimes, it was a blessing not to be noticed and acknowledged, but by the amount of people not looking her way, she had to admit she was feeling just a bit insulted. Not even her sister sought her out. That was rude. But, for now, it played to her hand and she hoped no one would break the habit now.

Seth chuckled and laced her arm through his, just as she was internally screaming at her last nerve to stay focused. Snorting out in amusement, she replied, lightly teasing;

“Horses trod. You stomp. But, I forgive you.” Tavia found the willpower to flaunt him an innocent smile, but chuckled at his expression and followed it with a defeated sigh, her feet moving on an instinct she’d really thought she’d lost.

“When was the last time you danced?” She asked, the tone as innocent as her former smile.

Seth clenched his jaw as he watched her step away from him, turning her face away, like he was a monster. In all of the years he had known her, even without his memories, Seth had never hurt her. Never used his position or his powers against her. And yet, the pain that lanced through him at such a simple thing was unexpected. Disarming.

“Please. Do not turn from me. Do you fear me? Is that it? Or do you fear what you have done?” He swallowed thickly, giving himself pause to collect himself and his thoughts. There was always something so…vulnerable about the truth, yet Seth could not find it in himself to lie to this woman.

Omitting the truth, yes, but he omitted many things about his machinations to her, to Julian and his siblings. Seth was a puppet master, but Tavia had never had any strings. He could not bring himself to involve her, no matter how much she would benefit their cause.

“Death is final, Tavia,” he murmured, moving closer with careful steps, eyes never leaving her face. “For you, for us all. But not for someone like Lady Nessa.” He had guessed, of course, but no other person in all of Umbra could raise the dead such as she. He stopped a foot or so away from her, still watching, and his voice was smooth and soft when he next spoke.

“But you do. You know yourself. And you know me. In all of these years, have I changed so much?” It was a joke at his own expense, though he found no humor in it. They had all changed with his sister’s plotting, Seth along with them.

He raised a hand, movements slow and careful, like he was soothing a spooked animal, and rest it along the curve of her throat, thumb rubbing against the divot at her collar. His voice was a whisper, only meant for her to hear. “I am afraid you have disarmed me, Lady Diaval. What will you have me do?”

That was all he could give her, in truth. A decision to make.

Scoffing seemed like the only reasonable thing to do.

How could he even think that she’s afraid of him? Of herself, maybe. Maybe not of her power, but of her desire to see her animals and monsters safe and alive, to help them and protect them... Her love for them is making her weak and it was a well known weakness, something that someone she’s trusted used against her.

How could she do that to her?

“Don’t be absurd. I’m not afraid of you. I never was.” She replied after finding the ability to speak again, her words sounding sharper than she’d intended. Taking a deep breath, she turned to face him, soft frown marring her face. Yes, she was afraid of herself, afraid of what this was turning her into.

A monster.

But what did that make Ophelia then? Someone benevolent or malevolent? Maybe she was coerced into this as well, but maybe Tavia was just blinded by her friendly affection towards her, blinded to the rot which festered beneath the warm eyes and soft smile. “I couldn’t help them and I couldn’t just let them die. We shouldn’t fear them, they’re not... they’re not evil and they’re not the ones responsible for this.” It’s me. I’m responsible for this. she’d wanted to add, but she bit her tongue in time.

Has he changed? Maybe. Maybe not. She didn’t think clearly, she didn’t remember very well. And she had long since learned that it was the best for her to not dwell on Seth Tenebris, to not let her thoughts and her... sentiments cloud her judgement and melt her resolve. But, while she found it the best not to dwell on it, something in the tone of his voice made her reply: “You? Perhaps not. But, you’ve always had one face for me and one for the others.” She wasn’t much different, she too had her face suited for various people (after all, it was only human. not everyone was fit for all her moods and all her truths.)

But, she knew this would change her.

Surprise interrupted her train of thought as Seth touched her again and spoke in a whisper. Her eyebrow twitched with the emotion, but secretly she applauded herself for stopping herself from flinching again. What will you have me do?

Leave. Stay.

She didn’t really know. But saying it outloud would just sound like a dull echo, repeating itself because there’s no more strength left for defiance, for shouting back something else. Tavia collected herself before her gaze found his again and she asked: “I don’t want to go back in there. I just want to go.” I don’t want to be alone. “But, I suppose you’ll have to go back there.”

“You of all people should know what prices we pay, Tavia, to those who deal in shadow,” he said, and it was like a knife to the heart. Seth screwed his eyes shut and breathed in deep, attempting but not succeeding at quelling the quiet anger that seeped into his tone. In a way, some inexplicable way, he understood. Shade forgive him, he understood.

Tabea and her little puppets were magnetic, a force that sucked you in and drank you dry, compelled you to do the things you wanted them to, all in the name of a bond, of loyalty. It took everything he had to play these games, to remove himself far enough where he was not so embroiled but enough that he could keep tabs on all his sister did.

But this….this he had missed.

It ate at him.

Extracting himself from the woman in front of him, Seth clenched his jaw and ran a hand through his hair, a familiar heat pooling at the base of his spine. He needed to be careful here. Tendrils of flame licked at his fingertips and he clenched his hands into fists, extinguishing them with a grimace and he turned, gaze boring into Tavia’s face.

“In some way you must have known, darling. Some way. You are not stupid.” And yet that was what confounded him the most. Though she tried to hide her emotions, to brush away all that she felt, Tavia was still an open book to him. She was one of his oldest friends. He could read her in his sleep, if he must.

And all that he saw now suggested she truly had not understood.

“Is your sister involved? Or did she think, as you appear to, that every price you paid would not be collected in full? Regardless of who it was to, my dear sister has hands in every coin purse in Umbra. Your creatures would play a leading role no matter what you had done.”

She should’ve known.

But she didn’t need to hear it from him and in the tone of voice in which he’d said it. It wasn’t so much that his words had made her flinch again, but the way he said them, the biting remark. It made her take a step backwards, just as he turned away from her. With her attention turning back to him, she noticed in the corner of her eye the fire licking at the tips of his fingers, his power pouring from him for everyone to see (but thankfully they were all alone)

It felt good to know she wasn’t the only one losing all control.

Seth’s attention turned to her and she found herself steeling her expression again, rotating herself so that she wasn’t directly facing him. It was an involuntary reaction, coiling away from him like that; not in fear, because she never fear him, but... protecting herself. It wasn’t that she’s afraid he’d hurt her, or harm her; she knew him well and long enough to know that he wouldn’t, but it was an instinctual way of behaving when she found herself too close to him.

Darling.

It bothered her when he called her that, but only because it made her acknowledge things she didn’t want to acknowledge, things she was all to happy to leave buried and hidden, not just from him, but from herself and the rest of the world as well. “I didn’t think she’d do anything like this. She was always good and kind to me.” Tavia muttered, remembering all the conversations and genuine moments she’s had with Ophelia.

“I don’t know. I don’t think she’s made any deals with her. She’s... she’s stronger than I am, she’s able to let them go and think of death as final, but I just... I couldn’t leave them for dead.” Her voice was shaky, but there were no more tears in her eyes. Only apprehension, as she remembered the nightmares in the kingdoms. Was that Heloise’s doing? Did she know?

“I don’t know. I don’t know anything anymore.”

The brunette flinched against him and Seth sucked in a breath, letting it out slowly on a hiss. Despite her surprise much earlier in the evening, this was far different from the Tavia he had seen. Her sobbing quieted to silence, the only indication of her anguish the tears that stained the front of his shirt and the shaking of her shoulders.

Seth had come out here to rage at her, to scream, to demand why she would help a woman so vile and heartless as his sister, yet none of that came. Instead, something like regret, regret and exhaustion, crept into his bones and made a home there. That feeling permeated the air as he held her, chin tucking her into his body, curling her closer by the arm that had wrapped around her ribs.

The prince did not speak though his mind swirled with everything his tongue could not mimic. He sighed instead, a deep and heavy sound, and maneuvered to look at her face, chin hooked between a thumb and forefinger, dark eyes staring.

“Not this. And certainly not–certainly not any part you may have played in it,” he murmured, voice cool as his thumb rubbed away a stray tear. “But I am unsurprised. Tabea has grown in her boldness. It was only a matter of time.” He paused for a moment, considering, something hot and feeling distinctly like a betrayal stinging in his breast.

And then: “Why did you help her, Tavia?”

Tired.

This entire thing was making her incredibly tired. Had she’d known that thins would’ve happened, would she still have honoured her end of the bargain with Ophelia?

Undoubtedly.

But, then again, she didn’t have much of a choice anyway. Whenever she would make a deal with lady Nessa, they would bind it with powerful magic. Ophelia said it was just a precaution, but Tavia had now seen it for what it truly was; coercion. That moment, when the dead had risen without coming back to life, she felt compelled to set her Shadow monsters loose, to send them howling. She didn’t mind mildly scaring and wearing down the kingdoms’ generals in circles, it was a bit fun actually and it was harmless. But this wasn’t. Neither fun nor harmless.

And when it came down to it, dissected to the core, it was all her fault.

Exhaling a heavy breath that lifted a smidgen of burden from her heart (after Seth had denied his involvement), Tavia’s gaze found the prince’s. His question, the sheer accusation in it threatened to drive a knife to her heart, but she steeled herself from it, like she steeled herself from anything that might cause her pain (and since he had often been the cause of it, she learned better than to let any of her emotions show)

“I didn’t help her. I didn’t - I had no choice. I had a price to pay. I never wanted this to happen. I never thought... I didn’t want this to happen.” She spoke through the teeth, concentrating on her breathing and controlling her expression.

She can’t let him see how all of this is making her crumble apart.

The evening had grown in leaps and bounds with Tavia at his side. There was something like a sense of security in this strange kingdom, surrounded by even stranger people, when Seth had her spinning around the room. If his siblings had seen, they would assume he had seen her and asked for a single dance, not three. They’d also not have known that the pair had snuck away, not even if they asked. Say whatever you will about him, but this was something Seth wanted to keep, and keep to himself. His dearest siblings did not get to share this. Not this.

When they separated to their families, Seth felt more settled into his skin than he had in a long while, a half smile curling his lip as he gathered with the others to watch the festivities.

When the mournful, dreadful growling started, the prince’s eyes widened first in shock and then darkened in anger, seeking out the woman he had just had on his arm, laughing. He knew what this was, knew it as easily as he knew what breath felt like, and the anger the blazed in his chest was a mix of pride and rage.

Tavia fled the room and Seth broke away to follow, pace clipped as he ate away at the distance to close the gap. A hand reached out, ready to yank her back, to spin her around, demand answers.

And then that sound.

Hand frozen in midair, Seth skidded to a halt behind her, body unsure, face twisted into a self-righteous anguish as he listened to Tavia breath, half-choked and sobbing. Anger still blazed in his chest, hot and thick, but when he stepped forward and tugged her close, he rest his chin a top her head and let her sob into his chest, gaze lost as he stared without seeing, gut roiling with indecision.

Not expecting anyone to have followed her (except for Heloise), or even noticed her departure, Tavia flinched for the second time that evening and, ironically, it was the same man who had caused it both times. She wasn’t sure when the panic she had felt turned into crying, but now tears didn’t seem to have an end as much as she tried containing her sobbing to a minimum.

Fortunately, she stopped crying loudly and the only indicator that she was crying was the shaking of her shoulders.

Her head rested against Seth’s much taller frame, the weight of his chin on her head bringing comfort. She didn’t expect such a display from him. They were friends, yes, but despite their friendship he was the last person she’d expected to follow after her. She’d expected Heloise, maybe even Ophelia (who’d brought this upon her in the first place) to come check up on her, but not Seth.

It seems it was a night of surprises.

Hiding her emotions from him, and from everybody else, had been a second nature to her and so forcing herself to not look for any deeper meaning than the one of a merely concerned friend, had come just a little easier for her. The silence between them was dense and if she had a knife, she reckoned it would’ve been able to cut through it as effortlessly as though butter.

Tavia was the first to break the silence, steeling herself from whatever was about to come. Had he known about Ophelia’s plan? Her friend was thick as thieves with the queen, so she didn’t doubt this was in great part done to serve whichever agendas their queen had had, but she didn’t know if Seth was part of their plans. They rarely talked about his family and never about the Tenebris’ plans for whatever was to come.

“Did you know this would happen?” She asked, not finding anything else suitable to say. She would’ve turned away from him, not liking that he’d seen her in such a poor state, but in the very moment she found herself lacking in strength to do anything except for existing.

Existing as a monster.