Jared found an invisible force pulling him to Mina's side even though he knew that the tether combining him and Mina as Grimm and Grimoire was no longer there. Kneeling beside her, he did nothing. He couldn't bring himself to cry, or scream, or do all the things he wanted to. So, he just knelt next to her and held her head up. He rubbed his thumb across the little colour left on her cheeks and stared into her perfect chocolate brown eyes before gingerly closing her eyelids with the gentle touch of his fingertips. His other hand grabbed hers and squeezed it, knowing that no reciprocation would come. He remained silent as he studied the way her hair gently curled and twisted on the marble floor. Her brilliant mint green summer dress was pooled above her knees and he gently smoothed out the ruffles as he held her close to his chest, as if his touch could spark a little life, as if his gentleness could fix her, as if hearing his heartbeat would bring her back.
It almost looked like she was sleeping.
He'd done it so quickly that there was nothing Jared could do. He'd had to stand in awe before he could even look at her as she lay there, like a perfect flower whose petals would soon fall and blow away in the chilling wind. There was no blood, no bruises, no pain, but the matter of the fact was Mina would not break the curse. No, Mina Grimm would never get what she wanted because Mina Grimm was dead. And it killed Jared to even think the words in his head, but it was the truth. His throat held a lump as big as the shattering pieces of his heart combined and he found it difficult to breathe. It felt like the air had been sucked out of his lungs the way that that dark magic had sucked the life out of the one person he truly loved, the one person he'd ever love. His eyes burned and he ached to shed the tears that needed to be let out, but for some reason they wouldn't come. The lack of air and tears was painful yet he couldn't feel anything but the waves of sadness threatening to envelop and drown him under their impressive weight.
"It's a shame she had to go so soon."
Jared's blood boiled. How dare he speak to him? How dare he speak about her as if she was a broken toy, as if he could simply go buy a new one, a better one?! His stormy grey eyes narrowed into slits and he gently set down Mina's head as he got up and turned around. There, in all his sadistic glory stood the Dark Prince, pure madness filling his electric blue eyes. He crossed his arms in satisfaction over his silky black, ruffled shirt. There was white lace sewn into intricate patterns on the ends of the sleeves and on the collar. The only thing Jared could think about was the many different ways he could change the white into a dark, blood red.
"What is it, lover boy? Cat got your tongue?" Teague laughed, seeing his brother so furious.
"No." Jared spoke clearly and firmly.
Teague chuckled and gracefully strided towards a red and gold throne-like chair towards the end of the room. He draped one leg over the arm of the chair and left the other to lazily hang off. "Tell me, Jared. I want to know." He mused.
"Know what?" Jared sneered and walked up to the seat and stood defiantly in front of Teague.
"How does it feel? To lose the one you love?" He grinned.
Jared clenched his fists at his sides.
"Were you planning on marrying her, Jared?"
His grey eyes closed tightly in an attempt to keep from crying.
"Living happily ever after?"
He took in a deep breath and shakily exhaled.
"Because, I wouldn't know what it's like to lose someone like that." He giggled maniacally.
"No. You wouldn't." Jared looked up and stared right at Teague whose smile had deflated ever so slightly. "It feels like complete and absolute shit. Like you'll never feel happy again, like everything you've ever wanted was lost, like you have to live the rest of your life as a monster. You could never know how I feel because even if you could learn to love someone, there is no chance that anyone could ever love someone like you. You're a manipulative bastard who only cares about himself and would kill an innocent girl if only to gain a little bit of control over his pathetic life."
Teague opened his mouth, as if to protest, but shut it when Jared continued, his voice growing louder and more passionate with every word.
"So, Teague, please allow me to ask a question of my own. I want you to tell me how it feels. To be completely alone and worthless. To have no friends, no one who could ever think of loving you, hell, our parents don't even want you! You are completely abandoned and you've never known the feeling of having a heart and you never will! You're rich, you're the "best looking" guy on this plane, you're a prince, and still, NO ONE WANTS YOU! NO ONE WILL EVER WANT YOU, TEAGUE." His throat was sore from yelling but he couldn't stop. Teague deserved this. "SO PLEASE, TELL ME HOW IT FEELS TO BE A SADISTIC MURDERER WHO HAS TO LIVE EVERY DAY OF HIS SOLITARY LIFE KNOWING THAT HE'LL NOT ONLY DIE ALONE, BUT EVERYONE WILL PROBABLY THROW A HUGE-ASS PARTY THE SECOND HE'S GONE." Jared swallowed hard and looked at his brother. "BECAUSE I'M ASSUMING THAT ALSO HURTS LIKE ABSOLUTE SHIT AND I PITY YOU FOR WHAT YOU'VE BECOME AND WHAT YOU WILL ALWAYS BE."
"Are you done?" Teague's voice cracked ever so slightly at the end.
"Yeah, I am." Jared remained stone-faced and ignored the shiny blue eyes in front of him.
"You're free to go."
"If you think I'll just-"
"I SAID you're free to go." A single tear leaked from the corner of Teague's eye but Jared didn't care. He picked up Mina in his arms, he knew Sara would want to see her one last time, and began to walk out of the castle. Mina's head rested in the crook of his elbow, but Jared knew she wasn't really there. He felt as though the life she brought everywhere had left and dissipated into the air.
And at that moment, Jared knew exactly how Teague felt.