I'm walking with so much determination, yet so much fear. So brave, yet such a coward. The rage that is inside me is indescribable; so brutal and raw. The feeling of wanting to literally kill Conall is eating me alive. I want him and his mind dead.
It still strikes me that there are people who think like that; who want us to be isolated from the outer world. So what if the outer world is dangerous? So what if they are not like us? This village has set these irrational rules without thinking, at all.
Do they honestly want us to live like that for the rest of our lives? If we don't move now and stop this, others will do. No one will ever bare to live in such stupidity, feeling like an animal in a zoo, wanting nothing but run wildly with the others.
The thoughts are like fire inside my mind once I get inside the house again, heading towards my room when I see my father knocking on its door. I stop and my eyes widen, making him notice my presence.
He furrows his eyebrows before quietly asking, "Where were you?"
"I was with Artis." I answer immediately.
"Who's Artis?"
"A friend of mine." I answer him, gulping.
He nods slowly before letting out a deep breath and saying, "We need to talk."
Nodding, I follow him back to the living room and sit down on the chair on the opposite direction of him. After releasing yet another deep breath, my father laces his fingers together before looking at me.
"Before anything, I'm deeply sorry for what I did. It was wrong and I should have listened to you first, and it was unacceptable and disgusting. No matter what you did, laying a finger on you was the only thing that I will forever regret." He says, the sincerity clear in his tone.
"Father, I understand. It hurt, but I understand." I assure him, giving him a tight smile.
He nods. "It shall never happen again, and that is a... promise."
I smile. "I know."
"How long have you been seeing him?" He asks, quickly changing the subject, which makes the air stops in my throat.
Wetting my lips, I ask, "Do you want the truth?"
"I want nothing but the truth, Tallulah." He says quietly, yet the poison in his tone is so evident.
"Almost two years." I whisper, watching as my father's eyes grow wild and he stands up. Begging, I reach for his hands and say, "Please, just sit down and hear me out."
He keeps his angry gaze on me for a few seconds before sitting back down in his seat. I sigh and decide to speak up. "The gates here only open at the payment's day."
He nods, encouraging me to continue. "I saw him in the city and... after quite some time we got to know each other, and then we... uh... we started dating and I would always sneak out to see him."
"Does Zayn open the gates for you?" He asks angrily.
"No, no, no!" I shake my head frantically. "He has nothing to do with us, no one knows about this, I climb over the gates at midnight when everyone is asleep."
I can never rat anyone out. My father caught me on my own, and keeping it this way will be better, because I know that if he knew about the others, he will not hesitate to tell our chieftain—Esme's father—and Lyara knows we will all be doomed then.
"You what?" He wonders in disbelief. "You've been lying to us this whole time!"
"I hid it but I did not lie, father." I try. I actually didn't lie; I only hid it because I knew he would have reacted this way.
"It's the same thing, Tallulah." He glares.
I sigh in frustration before saying, "You know why I hid it, father; because I would have received the same reaction that you gave me hours ago. How could I tell you? I know the rules and the consequences."
"If you do know them then why are you doing it?" He hisses, his tone begging for an answer.
"Because I love him!" I raise my voice. "I don't care about those stupid fucking laws; I mean, excuse me but you are all brainwashed. It's twenty—fifteen for Lyara's sake, how close—minded are you? Not a single person in this village likes these rules—hell, no one even follows them! This village is being controlled by the wrong people, and I'm sorry that I'm saying that, father; but I cannot give two fucks about the consequences right now because I'm already fighting."
"Watch what you're saying, Tallulah! We've been under—" My father starts shouting but thankfully, the knocking on the door interrupts him.
He shoots me a look of disappointment before walking towards the door. Sighing, I fall back on the chair and breathe out and in. Another problem with my father is not what I need, definitely not now and not under these circumstances.
Instead, I should be thinking about what is next, I should be planning what to do, and I should be telling my best friends about it; being on my own will be no help, I just hope that they approve of the idea that I have on my mind.
"Tallulah, it's for you!" My father calls for me and I immediately go to him.
On the door, I'm surprised to see Sir Artair standing with his hands behind his back. Looking back and forth between the both men, I say in confusion, "What is it?"
"Why did you not go to your training?" My father asks and I raise my eyebrow.
"I don't have any—" I start, though Sir Artair quickly cuts me off.
Giving me a look, he says, "Yes, you do, Tallulah. You probably just forgot."
I notice from the sudden appearance, the look and his tone that there is something else, that he is not here just because 'there's training'. Stuffing my hands in my pockets, I shrug casually to play it cool and say, "Oh, yes! Sorry, I'm going to change immediately."
"Sure," Sir Artair nods. "I'll be waiting here."
I look at my father, who nods his head towards my room before I dash off. Quickly, I take a two—minute shower, put on my clothes and pull half of my hair in a bun. As I get out, I take a big gulp of my father's coffee on the table to sober up. I didn't get any sleep, and I need something to get me through the day.
"I'm ready!" I announce, cutting off the conversation that is going on between my father and Sir Artair.
Sir Artair grins and says, "Great, let's go. Thank you for your time, Sir."
My father nods, shaking his hand before Sir Artair and I head off.
"What is it?" I ask as soon as my house is out of sight.
He looks at me with a frown before saying, "There is something that you must see."
Feeling my heart beats quickening, I ask frantically, "What is it? Tell me!"
I notice that we are walking towards the Lyara's river, which makes no sense at all. I stop on my grounds and hiss out, "Tell me what is going on!"
"Someone is hurt," He replies with a clench of his jaw. "Conall did it."
As a whimper falls out of my mouth, my heart falls to my feet and breaks. What I feared the most has happened. Someone is hurt. It truly does start now, just like what Artis said.
"Who?" I crack.
He shakes his head before walking towards the Lyara's river. With shaky legs and a trembling hand, I start following him until we reach the door of the river that is made of trees. Sir Artair stops in front of the door and looks at the ground as he says, "I'll be waiting here, in case someone comes."
With every step I take, the air around me lessens and the pressure rises, suffocating me. Slowly, I part the trees and step inside, only to see something completely different and unexpected.
Colourful balloons are placed around the river beautifully, a faint type of music playing somewhere in a corner, and a small wooden boat on the grass next to the river with a tiny little box on it.
My heart races wildly as I walk towards the box, kneeling down and holding it. My eyes brim with tears and a smile spreads across my face when I open it and see a small cupcake with a candle in the middle.
"Happy 20th birthday, my angel. I love you." Is written on the inside of the box.
A small laugh escapes my mouth as a tear falls off. I cannot believe this. He pulled this whole shit just for my birthday and fuck if I don't love him for his mind and for him.
"Aye, happy birthday, baby girl." I close my eyes when I hear his soft voice, not believing that he is actually here, in the village and at the fucking Lyara river.
In a swift move, I get up, turn around and hug him to me tightly as if he will fade away. I hear his soft chuckling before he places a kiss on the side of my face and hugs me back. With a last squeeze, I press a kiss to his jaw before pulling his face to me and kissing his lips.
His hands on my hips pushes me against his body closer as our lips work against each other. My heart turns to millions of butterflies jumping in happiness before turning whole again, feeling the love and the happiness from his lips.
With a kiss to my cheek, he pulls away and rests his forehead against mine as I say, "I can't believe you're here."
He smirks. "I got a little help from Artair."
"You're insane," I laugh, shaking my head. "What if someone saw you?"
"You sacrifice for me, and so should I," He shrugs with a smile. "It's a compromise."
I laugh at him for repeating my words, hugging him to me once more before taking the cupcake and smirking.
"It's a homemade cupcake," He says proudly. "I made it."
"Oh, no," I say dramatically. "Now I'm definitely not going to eat it."
"Oh, you will," He says, hitting my shoulder with his lightly. "Almost forgot, wait."
"What?"
I see him taking out a lighter from his pocket before he lights up the candle and wraps his arm around my shoulder, singing happy birthday to me while I grin from ear to ear from the happiness.
"Make a wish, angel." He whispers once he finishes.
Biting down on my lip, I close my eyes before blowing the fire off. Louis childishly claps and I laugh as I take the wrapper off from the cupcake.
"Bite with me." Louis say, taking the cupcake and holding it in front of both of our mouths.
"You serious?" I ask and he nods. "You're really going to do this?"
"Aye, I will!" He laughs and I shake my head at his silliness before we both take a bite, making our teeth clang against each other.
It tastes heavenly. I didn't know he can do such things, but he is extremely good at it.
"Good?" He grins.
"Amazing!" I laugh with my mouth full.
The cupcake now looks incredibly weird, arched at the both sides strangely.
"Now it looks like Kim Kardashian's body." He jokes.
"Hey, don't make fun of her body!" I hit his shoulder playfully, though I still laugh.
He shrugs and turns the cupcake. "Again, let's go."
I roll my eyes with a smile but oblige anyway. This time, our lips touch each other in a small peck that warms my heart.
"I didn't know what to buy for you as a gift, so I thought making memories would be the best thing." He speaks, pecking my nose.
"I wouldn't have wanted it any other way," I tell him truthfully. "It's so magical and amazing, thank you."
He has been giving me kisses ever since I got here, but that doesn't stop him from pressing yet another kiss on my lips as he says, "I love you."
"I love you, Louis." I smile.
For each darkness, there is light. For each problem, there is a solution. For each heart, there is a lover. And for each life, there is a gift. And Louis is all that for me, all of it is wrapped in Louis' soul and heart.
That makes me think about receiving my most valuable birthday gift; Louis' heart.
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