Thea
The glass room is more of an extravagant dome, almost like a green house. There's a worn stone path that leads to what looks like a throne made from a tree. Flowers in pinks, purple, yellow and blue dangle from the roof all the way to the floor. There's even a large tree growing in the room breaking through the ceiling in some spots.
A room made of glass.
The mermaid, if that's what she was, said I would find something here. Maybe that's why I'm so drawn to this room? That's impossible though, no one could predict that I would come to this planet let alone this room. I make my way to the throne, the bark is intricately woven, like it naturally grew into a throne for royalty. This place must have been awe-inspiring in it's time. It fills me with a deep sadness to see it reduced to death and decay.
A small glare behind the throne catches my eye. Curiosity has always been my weakness so I climb over some fallen tree limbs to investigate. A small bit of gold peaks out from under a pile of tree limbs and plants, I brush it aside to see what appears to be a crown. It's thin, not very extravagant but alluring in it's simplicity. I reach down to pick it up, when my hand touches the crown my mind is bombarded with images.
"Your Highness, twins! What a blessing from Anu." A servant girl says.
Before her is a stunning woman with a large, clearly pregnant, belly. It's the woman from the window. She lovingly caresses her stomach,
"Yes it is, they will always have one another."
The scene flashes forward, the woman is sweating and screaming as she gives birth.
"Aine, my love, you are so strong. You can do it, bring our children into the world, let them meet their father." A man with a blonde hair and a beard whispers into the pregnant womans ear.
Then their standing in the castle but it's glorious now, no signs of decay. A room full of people cheer, it's a celebration. The blonde haired man wears an intricate heavy crown, he is King.
"Welcome the next rulers of The Fae Kingdom, Theadora and Rhett!" The room explodes in cheers.
The scene changes again. The sound of screams fill the air and blood coats the floors. Aine scrambles into the throne room clutching a child to her chest. The door is thrown open and...Zev steps in. He looks feral, evil even.
"Please not my children, not my children. They are innocents."
Blood drips down every part of his body as he snarls and charges her. The baby cries out and for some reason this stops the wolf. His eyes are crazed as he inhales and stares at the little swaddled mass. Aine is cowering with the child glued to her chest.
"Run." He snarls.
She doesn't hesitate. Clamoring to her feet she runs for the back of the room where the glass has been shattered enough for someone to squeeze through. Before she can fully escape an invisible string drags her back.
"Going soft my child."
An old woman stands in the doorway. Aine looks at her and wails, begging for her child's life.
"Oh shut up!"
The old woman snaps her fingers and Queen Aine's neck twists to an unnatural angle as she falls dead, the child still wailing in her arms.
She turns to Zev, "You've out lived your usefulness."
With a flick of her wrist a jagged branch stabs him through the stomach and he drops to his knees. The Bedlam leisurely walks to the crying infant and picks it up.
"What pretty red hair, like your mother. I'll drain every drop of magic from your body then you can join her...or maybe I'll keep you." She laughs, "What a slight that will be. To raise you as my own, teach you to hate your own heritage. It would hurt your parents more then their actual deaths I think."
Then she presses her mouth to the baby's, a slow golden light seeps out of the child's mouth and into the Bedlams. She throws her head back in pleasure as the power becomes hers. Then she places a kiss on the child's head, steps over the mothers dead body, and leaves.
I gasp for air as I come back, I didn't realize the screaming filling the room is coming from me. My mind is on fire.
Everything hitting me at once, I'm Theadora, my mother and father were slaughtered with Zev's help, Rhett, sweet Rhett is my twin brother. And that evil bitch took me, drained me everything special before dumping me on earth, not realizing she would rot the second she got there. I picked the crown up off of my mothers dead body. Vomit rises in my throat but I can't hold it back this time. I retch on the floor. If I had looked a little closer I would have seen the thin skeletal hand that sticks out from under the leaves.
Zev rushes into the room just like he did that night and for a second I hate him.
He runs to me cupping my face.
"I told you not to come in here! What happened!"
I scramble away from him. His touch doesn't bring me comfort for the first time.
"GET AWAY FROM ME!"
Even I'm a little surprised at the venom in my voice. He leans back shocked,
"What happened little one..."
"Don't call me that! I know what you did here I saw it all, you helped her kill them. They were mine!" My hand slams into my chest as I emphasize my loss.
"Thea please," he sounds so sad, "I don't know what your talking about."
I stand on my own two shaking feet.
"I saw it all when I touched her crown. I'm Theadora that fucking witch dropped me on earth, I would be dead if she hadn't sucked every drop of magic out of me. She made me a weak, an orphan, so magicless even I could survive on earth."
Zev sits there stunned. I'm being torn in two. I want to hold him and have him hold me, so he can chase away all the fear and heartache. But the other half of me screams for the loss I didn't even know I had before tonight. Spinning on my heels, I flee into night.
The storm is nothing compared to my pain.
~~~~~
Zev
Theadora? Theadora one of two missing heirs? They were presumed dead centuries ago.
How could I not put it together before now, she looks like her mother. I pull my hair, her mother, the mother I almost killed. The heir to the kingdom I slaughtered.
She hates me.
I felt it, the stab of betrayal as she looked at me is something I won't be able to forget. The sound of the front door slamming brings me back. .
She's run out into the storm.
Rushing to my feet I go after her. She's to upset she's probably stumbling around randomly through the forest whoevers been killing all those people could be out there. The thought draws all the blood away from my face.
The rain is coming down in sheets washing away her scent and my panic is rising, I can't see or smell her. She could be hurt and I would have no idea. I use my eyes instead and follow the faint signs of broken twigs hoping it's her path.
After ten minutes my wolf is clawing at me. Our mate is gone the storm is getting stronger and she hates me.
What kind of curse is this?
To be given a mate that will have to hate the sight of me.
"FUCK!" I slam my fist into the tree so hard it falls over but it doesn't relieve an iota of my anger.
I've searched the forest for over an hour now and I can't find her. If she's hurt or worse it's my fault. How could I let her get so far from me. The storm hasn't stopped so she has to freezing and hungry by now.
The two basic things my little one should be protected against. If she still is my little one. She screamed at me when I called her that. My heart twinges thinking about it. I didn't want her in that room because I knew Aine's body was still there, she was never given a proper burial. And I never thought to give her one because I've always been a selfish man.
A small white ball suddenly drops to my feet. It's the same critter Thea followed when we got here. I raise my eyebrow at it.
"Maybe you've seen her?"
The small thing darts away, I must be desperate if I'm asking rodents. When I don't follow the white ball comes back, jumps around my feet and takes off again. I can't believe I'm thinking it but...he might be trying to help me.
I follow him as he darts between the trees traveling for a few miles. Just when I'm starting think I'm the dumbest man that ever lived I get hit with the faintest trace of her scent. I take off running past the white ball and find her at the base of a large tree.
She's completely drenched as she laya huddled into a small ball. Softly, I approach her, touching her shoulder but she has no reaction. I can hear her heartbeat clearly so I'm controling my panic but her small form is cold in my arms, to cold. I'm actually a little pissed at her she can hate me if she wants to but she's never allowed to hurt herself.
~~~~~
The fires been lit and I rapidly remove her wet clothes, changing her into one of my shirts. She stirs in my arms unconsciously moving closer to my warmth.
After a little while her wide eyes blink open slowly, tears filling them immediately. I wipe them away as they fall, each one hurting me to see.
"I-I'm sorry Thea."
I don't know what else to say. I am sorry, sorry for joining the war, sorry for getting captured, sorry that I became the monster I was fighting against.
She crawls off of my lap, not wanting to be near me. After she situates my shirt so she's more covered she shocks me by crawling back onto my lap.
"I saw that you tried to help her."
Even with my hearing I have a hard time making out what she says. She lays her head on my shoulders her tears wet my neck,
"I'm a bad mate."
I jerk back surprised, "You could nev-"
"Stop. I saw my mother, willing to die for me because of her love and I saw you going against your nature to help her. You are the first person I've ever loved and I left you when I saw something you had already told me about, I'm a bad mate for you."
I can't believe she's so filled of doubt that she's found a way to feel guilty for my sins.
"Thea stop it. You can't fathom what you mean to me, there are no words that can match my feelings for you, love falls short but it's the best I have so, I love you. My love for you is so consuming it scares me at times. You could never be a bad anything because everything about you is good."
I lean down and capture her mouth pouring my love into the kiss, there's this desperate need in me to make her know how special she is. She leans into the kiss, filling my senses with her sweet tasting lips. I can't stop my hands from traveling to her ass, so I pull away. Now is surely not the time. She pecks my lips once more and stares at me.
"I know some people would be mad at you or blame you but I don't, seeing what I saw... I never knew what I lost, you know?"
Her yellow eyes are filling with tears as she tries to put her grief into words, grief for something she was never able to have.
"I know this won't sound good but...I was ready to kill Aine then I saw you, smelt your scent and something that I had been missing for so long finally clicked back into place. Before you ever spoke a word or looked at me you changed me for the better."
"Is that really what stopped you."
"You were always meant to be mine, I'm sorry I wasn't always what you deserved."
She lays her head back on my chest,
"You're more."
~~~~~~
I had to take this chapter down for a bit bc half of it got deleted but here it is in its full form! PLEASE VOTE🤪