For the Most in a Month Competition and the Magical World Tour Challenge ("Did I scare you?")
Andromeda startles when she hears the footsteps behind her. She turns, instinctively reaching for her wand, only to find herself face to face with Rabastan.
"Did I scare you?" he asks, his lips quirking into a grin.
Andromeda swallows dryly. "You shouldn't be here," she says, her voice barely a whisper.
Rabastan steps closer, his grin widening. "And yet, here I am. I alway knew you would make a beautiful bride, Andi. Though, admittedly, I thought you would be mine."
She shivers. Once, she had thought the same. But that seems like so long ago, almost another life. Once, she had believed that miracles could happen and people could change.
"You shouldn't be here," she repeats.
He reaches out, stroking her cheek. Andromeda wishes that she could resist his touch, but her body betrays her with a shiver. "You say that, and yet your body says otherwise," he muses. "Second thoughts?"
"Hardly. I love Ted."
Rabastan snorts. "And you loved me," he says. "Or do you still? That sort of love doesn't just go away."
She blushes. It isn't right that he can still have this sort of effect on her. Whatever they had, whatever could have been, it's all in the past now. "Leave."
He takes her by the hand. "Think about what you're doing, Andi. What it means. It isn't too late to for us."
It is. It was too late the moment she walked away from him all those years ago. So why does her heart say otherwise? Why does she still shiver at his touch?
"I've made my choice, Rabastan," she says, her voice small and cracking.
"Choose again. Choose me. He can never love you the way I love you!" he insists.
And it's tempting, so tempting. Years later, he still clouds her thoughts. He still haunts her dreams, no matter how much she tries to move on.
But she loves Ted. She has a life and a future with him, one away from darkness and fear. A life that Rabastan could have given her if he hadn't chosen to follow in his brother's footsteps.
"You know I can't," she whispers. "What we had is over. I refuse to sit by while you destroy yourself. I loved- I love you, Rabastan, but love isn't always enough. Love can't save us."
He falls silent at that. All the arrogance fades from his face, and it breaks her heart to see him look so vulnerable, so human. "And that is your choice? Your final choice? Answer carefully because if you tell me to leave, I will. That will be the end of it. I promise."
There's that temptation again. She wishes that it wasn't so strong. But she's seen the destruction and devastation his choice has caused. Even if he isn't personally responsible for all the pain and suffering, he is part of it. She tried to save him once, but he made his choice, and now she has to make hers.
"You should go," she says. "I'm sorry."
Rabastan smiles bitterly. "We were never made to last, were we? We thought we were once."
"We were young and foolish."
He laughs, but there is no humor in the sound. "Perhaps I still am," he sighs, squeezing her hand gently before releasing it. "I could have made you happy. But if you won't let me, I hope that he can."
Before she can respond, he turns, rushing off before fading.
Andromeda sighs, turning to the mirror. She adjusts a stray hair and takes a deep breath. If only she could still be young and foolish. But it's time to grow up.