For the Heroes' Hunt (write about being the other man/woman in a relationship)
"Druella," Acantha Malfoy says coldly, folding her slender arms over her chest. "I must say that I'm surprised to see you here in my home. The one you tried to wreck."
Druella keeps her head held high, though the words sting. She hadn't tried to ruin anything. She had tried time and time again to walk away, but her love for Abraxas had always been too strong. "I'm here to pay my respects," she answers simply. "Abraxas was very dear to me."
Acantha laughs. "Oh, I remember how dear my husband was to you," she says.
Druella ignores her and moves past, taking a deep breath. Abraxas never loved Acantha. He loved Druella, but he had asked for her hand far too late. It hadn't stopped them, of course. She had convinced herself that it was just an obstacle in the way of their true love.
She comes to a stop before the coffin, and her lungs forget how to work for a moment. She wants to cry, to reach out and cling to his stiff body, to scream, to rage, to beg whatever higher power exists to take her and let him live.
But she doesn't. She can't. It is Acantha's place to openly weep, not her own.
Her chest burns, and she feels as though her heart has been ripped from her body. Tears prick her eyes. But they cannot fall. She was his lover, not his wife.
She rests her hand on his, flinching. It is cold, nothing like the warm hands that had pulled her against his body night after night, the warm fingers that had pressed against her lips whenever he thought that he heard Acantha returning home for the night.
"How does it feel?" Acantha asks, standing beside her.
Druella pulls her hand away quickly, heat flooding her face. "I'm not sure what you mean," she mumbles.
"He loved you. He loved you far more than he ever loved me," Acantha says, her words laced with bitterness. "He cried out for you in for moments. He was delirious and reached for my hand, called me your name. It hurt my heart knowing that after all these years, you were still the last thing on his mind."
Druella feels a lump in her throat. Tears swim before her eyes, and she blinks them away quickly. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because he broke my heart, and now I can break yours."
Druella swallows dryly. "Perhaps I'd better go."
"Oh, I think so," Acantha says before throwing herself at her late husband's body. "My Abraxas! My dear, sweet husband. Come back to me, my love! Come back!"
Druella pushes past the swarm of mourners who rush to Acantha's side. It isn't until she's outside again that she finally allows the tears to fall freely.