Happy Late Birthday to noneexistent2!
I wanted to finish this yesterday but I was far too exhausted after I came back from work.
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This chapter has been inspired by Lovelyslizie's very passionate comment!
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Wriothesely's POV
So that's what he was planning.
He-
That-
"Selfish bastard!"
Neuvillette, you selfish son of a b*tch!
"Wriothesely, look. Clorinde and Navia can help us take care of things here and the two of us can go and look for-"
"Get out." Interrupted her.
"Wiotehsely-"
"Get out!"
"Wha-"
"Did you think I would just get my stuff and go on a little adventure with you because you came and told me why that bastard left?! He left, Furina! He left me without a word!"
Even I eventually run out of patience.
I waited.
I waited for him to return.
I waited for him to apologize.
I waited for him to give me an explanation.
But it looks like he never intended to do any of that.
"Lady Furina, please return Clorinde and Navia from wherever you got them from and come back."
She hesitated for a bit, but after Clorinde's reassuring look, she took them back to the Court.
I used this time to calm myself a bit.
Or at least, I tried to.
That damn bastard!
How could he?!
"Neuvillette you-"
The archon's reappearance interrupted my thoughts.
"I'm guessing you wanted to talk."
Talk?
Yes, talk.
I suppose you could call it that.
"I want you to understand that from this point on, I've ceased caring. Do as you wish regarding Neuvillette. Go look for him if you want. I don't want to know. I don't care."
Even though I wanted to shout, to scream my lungs out, I tried to stay calm.
Just for a while.
I can scream all I want after she leaves.
"You... don't care?"
She looked at me as if I had just told her that Celestia would come tumbling down.
"I don't care. So leave and don't ever come back here, Lady Furina."
Don't ever return.
I don't need someone other than Sigewinne to constantly remind me of unwanted memories
She looked at me, shock never leaving her eyes. She opened her mouth a few times as if to say something but shut it each time.
"Alright." She said eventually.
She stood up and then-
She bowed deeply.
"I apologize for the pain our side has caused you, Duke Wriothesely. I will make sure you won't need to interact with anyone whose presence you might find uncomfortable."
She disappeared while I was still frozen from shock.
That-
I did not expect that.
From her words, I doubt I will be seeing her again.
That might be for the better.
I started pacing around absentmindedly, still trying to process what had just transpired.
Finally, I stopped and I somehow found myself right next to the Primordial Sea.
Well, isn't that ironic?
Even though I said I stopped caring, I ended up coming to the one thing that reminds me of you the most.
"Hahaha..."
You know what?
Maybe he'll show if I punch this thing hard enough.
Then I can tell him to fuck off and never show himself in front of me again!
Since I had that thought, I acted on it.
I gathered every ounce of strength, every bit of elemental energy, and punched-
"I do believe I told you to stop doing that."
Wha-
I was so shocked I tripped over my own foot, slamming face-first into the ground.
What the hell did I just see?
I shook my pounding head and blinked a few times before looking up.
And...
There he stood.
Looking the same as always.
"Hi." He grinned as he waved down at me.
Hi?
Hi?!
You dare?!
"Neuvillette, you son of a b*tch!"
I jumped up and my next punch was directed at him.
And so was the one after.
And the one after that.
And the one-
Argh!
"Stand still, you bastard!"
"Alright."
And he really did.
However, it only ended with me punching through his figure and through the wall.
"What were you even expecting?" He asked, looking genuinely curious.
A flush of shame instantly ran up my neck.
But then anger washed over me.
Pure and unrestrained fury.
"You actually dare show your face here, you selfish bastard?! After everything! After you- Mph!"
The world flipped and I was suddenly on the ground, Neuvillette towering over me as his lips covered mine.
What.
The.
Fuck.
Instinctually, I tried to punch him in the face, only for my hands to be captured and restrained above my head.
After a few more seconds, he pulled back ever so slightly.
It was then that I met his eyes.
Glowing, dark blue slit eyes. Glowing so brightly yet so dark at the same time.
Eyes like I had never seen from him.
"Get off." I managed to mutter.
"No."
"Get off, you bastard!"
"No." He repeated.
This damn-
"I've wanted to see you like this for some time now. I'm not just gonna throw away the opportunity now that I have it."
What?
What was he talking about all of a sudden?
A shiver ran down my spine as a predatory look surfaced in his eyes.
I found myself unable to move a muscle, unable to make a single sound.
"If a dragon wants something they will have it, my dear Wrio. And right now, I want to keep you like this for a moment till I calm down somewhat, so be good and stay put."
His eyes narrowed for a moment before he added.
"Behave."
He grinned and I caught sight of a pair of fangs.
The fangs, the eyes...
Everything...
This was Neuvillette.
I could see it.
I could feel it.
But at the same time...
"You're not him."
"Oh? You actually managed to speak?"
I did. Somehow.
But I still couldn't move a muscle.
"You're not Neuvillette."
"I am though."
"No."
You're not.
The way you look.
The way you talk.
The way you kiss-
"You're not him."
"I'm telling you that I am."
"And I'm telling you that I don't believe you."
He pulled back a bit more, furrowing his brows.
"How about this...? I swear upon my name that I am, have been, and always will be Neuvillette."
He looked incredibly pleased with himself after he finished speaking, but...
"Was that supposed to mean something?"
Words cannot properly express how shocked he looked.
"To think that a dragon would swear on their name only to be looked down on... Unbelievable." He muttered.
The more he spoke the more it felt like his little stunt should have meant something to me.
"Well, since that doesn't work, I'll just have to be straightforward."
He leaned back a bit more and out of nowhere, his whole demeanor changed.
Nothing had changed but he suddenly felt so majestic. Intimidating even.
As if I was being looked down upon, preyed upon by a great beast.
"I am the Dragon Sovereign of Water. Not the one you know, the one who is restrained. I am the one who acts on instinct. The one that does not bend to others but bends others to their will."
Suddenly, he leaned back down. Closer, till I could feel his fangs on my throat.
"I am the beast within if you will. The subconcious. A manifestation of the dragon's will. A will that has been held back, restrained for centuries.
I am the side of him that wants to take you away. To lock you in the deepest parts of the sea away from the eyes of others. Away from danger. Only for my eyes to see.
I am the part of him that on one side desires to protect Furina, while on the other wants nothing more than to rip the gnosis right out of her chest, to take back what's rightfully mine.
I am the part of him that wants to hunt down and rip apart all those who have hurt you. To make them pay the price for laying a hand on what's mine.
I am the side of him that wanted- The side that wants to push you down and kiss you senseless till neither of us can do without air.
I-"
After everything he had already said, he hesitated.
"I- I am... I am the part of him that knows I should have never left."
He buried his face into the crook of my neck.
"I am the part- No... We both wish for nothing more than to be here, by your side."
What-
You-
Then-
"If you want to be here so badly, then why the hell are you not?!"
With that shout, I moved. Flipping our position around, now looking down at him.
I didn't know how I did it and obviously neither did he.
But right now that didn't matter.
"You're... Like this... Like- Does it even matter if I scream at you like this?! If I curse you for all the pain I feel?! Will you even know?! Will you even remember?!"
There was a small movement, a small nod. A subconscious action, most likely.
But that was all I needed to unleash all I had on him.
"You damn bastard! You selfish son of a b*tch!
You leave because you don't want to see me die?! What now?! Now you won't even see me live!
Human or not, mortal or not, had you stayed we would have had time! Decades! For a vision holder, maybe even a century! But you left! You left me so suddenly, without an explanation!
You left me doubting whether anything we ever had was even real. You left me doubting your feelings! Son of a b*tch! You left me doubting MY feelings!
You didn't want to lose me, but what about me?! Have you ever thought about what I would feel, Neuvillette?! I lost you! I lost you without any reason! And now- Now I have to live out my life you're out there somewhere, unwilling to even look me in the eyes and tell me why this is happening?!
I found out from Furina! The only reason I even know why you left me is because that damn archon I found annoying all my life, unlike you, took the time to come down here and tell me!
She came down here and asked me to go look for you with her! But you know what?! F*ck you, Neuvillette! Go f*ck yourself wherever it is that you are because I'm not coming after you!"
I was left panting.
Pantin from rage, from exhaustion.
But at the same time, I felt relieved. Free of all those words, all those feelings I had been holding back for so long.
Still...
There was one more.
"You left before I could ever tell you that I love you."
I loved you then and I love you still.
Curse this stupid heart of mine.
Even after all you did...
"Always..."