[ T H E L O V E R S ] -an Arcana story-

Chapter 1

~the plague

It was cold and silent in Vesuvia. The plague took over the city, and only two doctors are left. The sickness just waited for more victims, lurking above the cities roofs. It was night, the moon barely able to see behind grey, almost black clouds.

"Asra?" shouted a voice, head hanging low on top of a desk. "Ilya, are you okay?" No response. "Ilya?" asked the magician again. They grabbed the doctors shoulders and lifted him up, the ginger just staring dizzy into the void. "Oh Ilyushka. You need sleep." They picked him up and carried him into their bedroom. After they put a blanket on top of their partner they wanted to leave, but a little shout stopped . "A-Asra, please don't leave." Asra smiled and layed down next to Ilya. "I'll never leave, Ilyushka." The white haired intertwined fingers with his love, who fell asleep shortly after.

The next morning, Asra was gone as Ilya woke up. Even though he slept, he felt exhausted. His sight was dizzy and he had headaches. "Asra!? Asra where are you!?" "I'm right here, I made breakfast." Asra said as they came into the room with a plate full of breakfast. Ilya tried to smile, but suddenly needed to cough something up. He grabbed a tissue and spit out blood. Asras expression changed immediately. "Ilya! What's wrong?"asked worried and tugged the ginger hair back. Ilya let his head hang low. "Do you think-?" A nod. "No. No. That's not possible, you are supposed to cure the plague, not get sick yourself! Y-You can't get sick." "I-It's possible, Asra. And not surprising, I had contact with many victims of the plague." Tears left Ilyas eyes as he turned his face away, not wanting to show his pain. Asra broke out into tears and hugged the man. Together they cried until noon, shutting down from society. Asra tried to take care of Ilya, but it just got worse every day.

One day, Asra sat down on the edge of Ilyas bed. They grabbed his hand and held back the tears at the sight of the weak body in front of them. "A-Asra? I want you to know that I'm sorry." "Sorry? Sorry for what?" "I gave up. On myself." His eyes shut and Asras eyes widen in concern. grab his shoulders carefully, shaking him. "Ilya? Ilya. Wake up! Wake up! P-Please..." Tears drip down Asras face as they hugged the cold body. "Please, I beg you. Ilya, please! I love you..." They hug their dead love tighter, wetting the shoulder with their tears. It took them a while to realize what just happened. They got up and let go of the lifeless body. Tears silently flood down the magicians cheeks. "Gone..." whispered. Their sobs got louder as they fell on their knees. "GONE!" cried out and screamed in pain. They sobbed and screamed until they couldn't talk. They layed down on the floor, hair surrounding them. Tears dripped down on the wooden floor, their sobs sounded ten times louder than before. They didn't hear anything else, just their own sobs. After an hour, Asra just sobbed and sobbed, but no tears came.

Asra calmed themselves down and sat down with Faust in lap. "Julian?" asked the snake and Asra smiled hurt. They shook their head, "Gone." "Gone?" Faust snuggled up in his lap, obviously mourning. "We have to get him to the Lazaret before he starts to... rot." They swiped away their tears, eyes still burning. They got up and wrote a letter. Asra didn't even read what they wrote. They didn't want to. As the pigeon with the letter flew out of the window, Asra couldn't help but cry again. This was the last time they could properly say goodbye to Ilya. They went in their shared bedroom and stared at the dead man. It took them several minutes to walk up to him and take his hand. It was ice cold in their own, and as white as the moon. They smiled sadly as they pressed their mouth on the skin of Ilya. "I'm guilty. I left you, I broke my promise. And I don't know how to make it up to you again. But I'll find a way. And this time, I will keep my promise." He got up and blinked a few times. An hour later they arrived to pick Ilya up and get him to the Lazaret. Asra held Ilyas hand until they needed to let go, their fingers slowly gliding out of his. Asra watched the sea as he got up and went home, daring himself not to look at the island of flames. They ignored everyone, not even the baker could convince them to say something. Their hair hid their face, bouncing a bit with every step they took.

Asra sat down at the table. It was quiet, Faust was sleeping. Usually, Ilya would be struggling over a bunch of papers or laughs as he fed the leeches downstairs. He would moan in exhaust and lean back in his chair and shout for Asra to kiss him. On their anniversary, he hid little notes around the shop, Asra hasn't found all of them yet. Each time he found something different written inside, from a two page poem to a simple "I love you". Asra smiled as they remembered. They got up and went into their bedroom. The magician opened the window and used a simple spell to clean the bed. They breathed deeply in and out. Faust woke up and crawled onto their shoulder again. Asra sat down on the bed. They stared into the void, thinking. "Faust..." "Asra?" "There is a way to get Ilya back, but- Its dangerous and safer for him to not know anything about it." "Friend back! Friend back!" "You are right. I can't live without him. I need him back, I love Ilya. Even if this will mean that he won't recognize me. I'll take it. I'll do everything."