SEALED LIPS ⟶ Theseus Scamander

SEVENTEEN; CUTTHROAT

"Don't worry, Tyne," Leta's voice rang out, dragging her from her thoughts, " you're safe now, you don't have to worry about anything."

As much as she wanted to believe Leta right away, Tyne couldn't bring herself into a relaxed state where she believed everything was perfectly fine. She had fooled herself into believing that once after she escaped, only to learn that things were never just that simple. But she was grateful to be out of the tank, thankful to be in the company of warmth, even if it meant that she would have to wait to see her mother for a while longer.

The hot air suddenly seemed to be reaching her bones and her teeth chattering slowed as she swallowed her words of protest. Leta was attempting to be comforting and that was more than what Tyne could ask for, especially coming from the woman that was engaged to the man that Tyne loved more than anything. Leta could have easily turned on her, told Tyne to stay away from Theseus and demand that she never intrude in their lives again, after all, they were to be married, they didn't need someone with a damaged past coming in to ruin everything.

But Tyne didn't see any of that when she looked at Leta, she saw genuine concern and a hopeful look that Tyne was going to be alright. It seemed she was saying all sorts of reassuring things, not just for Tyne's sake, but for her own as well. She sounded like she cared and while Tyne found that puzzling since they only knew each other briefly, it was still a wonderful feeling to be cared about.

"How did you find me?" Tyne couldn't resist the urge to ask. She wasn't ungrateful by any means, just all too curious as to how Leta had become her saviour. "How did you make it all the way here from home?"

"We were already here, Tyne," Leta said to her quietly, noting that the save sounded less heroic. "Our Ministry has travelled to the French Ministry in hopes of stopping Grindelwald, he's been sighted here multiple times. I was there when Garrick Ollivander came in claiming that you were taken...we were able to trace some of your last steps but then you disappeared. But fortunately, we found a house-elf that had plenty of secrets, including the new whereabouts of Arcanus."

She made it sound so simple, which made Tyne feel so inadequate in the use of her mind and magic altogether. The way the Ministry had swooped in and foiled the entire circus, Tyne had suffered for how many years because she wouldn't fight back or do anything to help herself or her mother? All the times she had been placed in front of a crowd of people, she didn't say anything, she had just accepted her life, too fearful of the repercussions if she wasn't helped soon enough.

And yet, maybe, if she had done something sooner, the Ministry could have intervened so much sooner.

"Is Garrick alright?" Tyne questioned, rather than focusing on her inadequacy and slow thinking. "I didn't mean to abandon him-"

Well, she had meant to leave him, but never with the intentions of hurting him, but rather to keep him safe.

"Garrick is safe," Leta replied with a small smile, " he fought like hell to come with us to make sure that you were alright. But I told him to remain behind, keep Theseus busy so that he wouldn't question what was going on."

At the mention of his name, Tyne immediately looked away from Leta's gaze, feeling too shameful to look Theseus' fiancee in the eye. She thought back to the letter she left and wondered if Leta had seen it, wondered if she had taken offence to what was written. Tyne had wished them all the best, but at the same time, she had also admitted her love for him.

"Tyne, he's so worried about you," Leta continued, helping Tyne sit up finally, " I don't think you understand just how much he cares about you. He loves you."

"No," Tyne shook her head, " no, he doesn't, he loves you, he-"

Before she could continue, Leta grabbed one of Tyne's hands in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Theseus is more than capable of loving more than one person, Tyne," she said, " and he loves them differently. He loves you, trust me when I say this, we love each other, but not in the sense to make a marriage work. I think we love each other in a way that we just want happiness for each other. You're what makes Theseus happy and I cannot stand in the way of that."