Disclaimer: Characters do not belong to me...
Props to whoever can figure out where the title comes from
He stretches, opening his eyes with a smile. She is right next to him, small body curled up and pressing against his bare chest. He kisses her knee, raising a turquoise eyebrow at her serious expression.
"I was just thinking..." she shrugs. "If everyone has a soul-mate... How does that whole concept work?"
"Well, do you know how we got to have soul-mates?"
"Well, no, that's what I'm asking."
He kisses her leg again before beginning his story.
"When the universe was created, and its inhabitants with it, we were each given a soul. Whole and pure. Eternal and ethereal, it could not be destroyed, not even by death. It still can't. It can transfer from one world to another, from one time to another. But, anyway, people did not have soul-mates back then. They could love, and they did, with passion and loyalty and every single thing we love with now, but they were not dependent on their love. They did not need their lover, nor feel empty without him or her, because they were whole unto themselves. But yeah, they could love. And with that, they could also feel jealous. The immortals especially."
"Lorian?" the girl asks with a dose of surprise.
"His father and mother. Artemis and Athenia. You've heard of Zeus, right?"
"Uh-huh."
"Well, according to many myths, he was quite a philanderer."
"Yeah," the girl nods, "we've read about it at school."
"Well, Artemis was pretty much the same way. And Athenia hated that. So one day, she stole a part of his soul, placing it within her own, so that he would never feel whole without her even if he did love somebody else. And because there is only so much soul you can have, she had to put a part of her own soul into his."
"Wait... These were your grandparents?"
Arkarian cringes. "Yes."
"So she put a part of his soul into hers, and so what happened? Did it work? Did he feel empty without her?"
"Oh, he did, but he hated her jealousy and what he considered her deception. So even though he truly felt broken without her, he decided to leave her for another woman, called Lilith. Athenia, invidious in her agony, killed Lilith, but all that accomplished was for Artemis to leave the realm of the living, and follow the woman to the world of the dead. See, even though Athenia held a part of his soul, and he did love her, he still loved Lilith just as much. And Athenia, seeing no other way, she took a piece of Lilith's soul and gave it to another man."
"What?"
"Yes. He was also dead. And Lilith, not having the willpower of Artemis, could not stand to be separated from her soul. So she left him, and Artemis eventually forgave Athenia. But then, I guess they decided it would be beneficial to everyone to collectively enforce the method onto them, and so each and every soul was taken apart. And a piece of it was given to somebody else."
Isabel nods, taking all this in. "So... you have a piece of my soul?"
He smiles his beautiful, ancient smile. "Yes."
