A Pirate's Tale | ATEEZ Fan Fiction

Chapter 54: Illa's Tale pt.2

8 Years Ago

"You have two choices, stay and fix what you've broken, or leave and live your life as you wish."

Her fists trembled as she looked into his eyes, the gold glistening against the night sky electrifying her veins as she used all of her energy to not crumble right there and then in front of him.

She bit the inside of her cheek and did the only thing her mind and body bade her to do. She turned around, letting her back face him as her hair flew in the wind and her eyes brimmed with hot tears.

She hated it all. She hated seeing him there, alone and guilty while the rest of the crew paid no attention to him. She hated the looks he would give her, eyes pleading for her to look his way though she never did.

But more than anything, what she hated most was how stupid she felt for actually wanting to forgive him.

It was all a lie Illa. He never cared about you. You were just a ploy in his scheme, a pawn to gain access into the hidden layers of your life so that he could earn your trust, and ultimately finish what his master strived to do all these years.

To him you were like a map, a guide to tell him everything he needed to know, only to be ripped into pieces and burnt into ashes when he was done with you.

And you were dumb and naive enough to believe in him.

As a sudden gush of wind hit her back, she turned back around to only be met with an empty deck. The tears streamed down her face, hot against her ice-cold skin as she brushed the hair out of her face and walked back to her room, her legs shaking unsteadily with every step she took.

Her heart ached with so much pain as she collapsed onto the floor in her room, her body hunched over as her elbows rested on the ground and her hands covered her mouth, attempting to silence the wails threatening to escape her lips. Her shoulders shook violently as the puddle beneath her grew larger and larger, her breaths becoming more desperate as she sat up again and put her hand on her chest, biting her lip as she tried to calm herself down. 

He's gone. He's really gone.

Present

Her eyes fluttered open as she stared up at the fresco-painted ceiling, the roses and butterflies against a beautiful sunset sky looking down at her, almost greeting her as she was a familiar guest in their room.

Looks like I'm here again.

She brought her hand up to her cheek, eyes widening as she felt the tears that had wet her face while she was dreaming.

Illa sat up in her bed, wiping the tears with her hands as she met eyes with a half-awake San who had fallen asleep too, his head on the end of her bed.

He quickly shook the sleepiness from his eyes as he sat up in his seat, "Illa! You're awake! How are you feeling? Are you okay?"

Illa froze upon seeing the concern laced in his eyes. She blinked twice, letting herself rub her eyes again as she felt the tears threatening to come out, the face in front of her so different from the San in her dreams, the San that broke her heart.

"Illa?" San moved closer to her, placing a hand on her arm, "What's wrong? Are you—" he stopped himself as she locked eyes with him.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, slowly moving her arm out of his touch as he felt a little taken aback by her actions.

"Yeosang let me stay here." He replied without thinking, eyes too fixed on her face as she didn't meet his gaze, merely nodding at his answer.

He bit his lip and sighed, "Also, I.." he spoke again, checking for a reaction from the Princess but she simply kept her gaze on the sheets beneath her.