Sorry for waiting so long to update! I have quite a few "in progress" fanfictions and I basically forgot about this one! Plus, school has been hell. I'll try to update more when I have time. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
The scene was breathtaking. She was back in Paris sitting atop the Eiffel Tower. Lights twinkled above and below her. The entire city was nearly silent yet, as she gazed downward, she could see the flurry of activity below. The silence that engulfed her was comforting, making the entire thing beyond incredibly beautiful and surreal.
"I'm sorry," a soft whisper sounded behind her. She whipped around to see Arthur. She thought, for a terrifying second, that she had been caught. However, she realized that he was not speaking to her, but to a woman beside him.
"Sorry? For what?" The woman wondered. Ariadne squinted her eyes, trying to see the face of Arthur's company, but the shadows were too heavy to reveal any features.
"For never telling you how much I love you, for allowing you to escape into the arms of another man," he sighed sadly.
"Oh Arthur," she cupped his chin gently and brought his face close to hers, "I've always loved you," suddenly they were kissing. Ariadne could not help but feel like she had been sucked into a cheesy movie. Who knew Arthur was so into romance? The question still remained, who was the woman he was with? A pang of jealousy shot through her and their kiss deepened. She had been under the impression that he cared for her… Had she been wrong?
"I love you too," Arthur murmured. He moved the woman ever so slightly to the left, allowing the light to illuminate her face. She gasped as she recognized who it was. It was her.
"Ariadne?" Arthur's eyes widened as his eyes snapped to her. He had heard her gasp. Ariadne's heart froze and her breath caught in her throat. She shouldn't have stuck her nose where she didn't belong. Now she was in a predicament that she realized would not be easy to get out of.
"Yes?" The projection responded sweetly. He ignored her.
"I… Arthur I…" She stuttered.
"What are you doing here?"
"My phone was in your room and I… I'm sorry,"
"Why would you do that?" His voice cracked slightly, he sounded more afraid than angry.
"What's going on? Who is she?" The projection demanded with confusion. Both ignored her.
"I was curious. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have… Why though?" Ariadne asked.
"What I dream is my business. Why couldn't you just leave me alone?"
"I already said that I was sorry, what more do you want from me?" She snapped. She had not meant to sound so cold or angry, but it was her defense against his hurt, confused, embarrassed, terrified, and slightly angry stare.
"What do I want? I want you to never have come into my dream without my permission! You need to keep your nose out of other people's business! You had no right…" He muttered.
"I do have a right when certain people are dreaming about me," she retorted.
"I fail to see how that makes it okay for you to be here,"
"Well I fail to see how it is okay, or appropriate, for you to be having this sort of dream without my permission or knowledge,"
He let out a long sigh, "Ariadne… By now you should know how I feel. None of this should be all that shocking. My dreams are where I can live out my deepest wishes. If I wanted you to know about this, I would have told you. But I didn't tell you, therefore you shouldn't have come here uninvited. I honestly do not know what to say,"
"Arthur I… I love you," she choked out. His eyes met hers and she found pain.
"My love, who is she?" One again the projection of Ariadne tried to grab his attention. He looked down at her and suddenly was ashamed of himself. She was correct, he had no right dreaming about her in such inappropriate circumstances.
"I love you, but I know you did not mean what you just said," he turned back towards the real Ariadne, whose brow was furrowed.
"What makes you think that?"
"Robert," was all he said. She felt a pain in her chest stab as his name was mentioned. She hated this, not knowing which she loved more. Undoubtedly, Arthur believed her feelings for him were less than her feelings for Robert. Little did he know that, because of them both, she was being faced with the most painful choice of her life. She wanted both, but she knew she couldn't have them.
"I do love you Arthur," she admitted, "But I love him too. I don't know what to do,"
"You have to pick, you can't have us both," he pointed out.
"I know, I know, but I just don't who I love more. I wish I did, you have no idea how much I wish I did. I do not want to hurt anymore, I want to be happy. However, it feels like my soul is being torn in half. One half wishes to follow you, the other wants Robert. I don't know how to choose,"
"What's going on? Arthur, I thought you loved me, you said you did," The projection complained. Ariande suddenly had the urge to push her off the Eiffle Tower. Arthur may have been able to capture her appearance almost perfectly, he had obviously had created his own personality. Is this how he wanted her?
"Why do you dream of me like that?"She wondered. He cringed slightly.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't act like that at all,"
"I know you don't, and I don't want you to," he bowed his head.
"Then why dream me this way?"
He shifted his weight uncomfortably, obviously not wanting to answer the question, but he knew he had no real choice, "Because if I don't I will forget it's a dream, I will want it to become my reality. I can't end up like Cobb…" he trailed off.
"So you created her," she nodded towards the projection beside him, "Because if you created someone exactly like me you would want to stay in your dream?" He nodded ashamedly. "Why would you do that when you can have the real thing?" Holy shit where did that come from? She screamed in her mind.
"Because I can't have you, Ariadne. Until you make a decision, until you choose, I can't do this anymore. I love you, I've said so many times, but you don't belong to me. I'm sorry," she could see small tears forming in his eyes.
"I don't belong to anyone,"
"That is because you have not yet made a choice," he pointed out. She knew this to be true. The only reason why she was not officially in a relationship was because her heart was split in two. Pain stabbed her chest. Life had been so much simpler before she had met Cobb and the whole team. Not that she regretted joining them, but she had been content with her uneventful simple life. Now she was being plunged into a situation that was causing her emotional agony.
"Well this decision isn't being made easier. Especially now that I'm here… And especially since I'm supposed to spend the night with Robert. I don't know what to do," she hadn't realized that she had started crying until she felt the wetness of tears on her cheeks.
Arthur's expression softened and he spoke with increased tenderness, "I know, neither of us have made this easier on you. I apologize for that, I really do. I just want you to be happy and I can see that I'm causing you pain. That's why I am here, in this dream, because I can't bear to be the source of your pain in reality anymore,"
"Arthur, oh Arthur please speak to me. What is going on? Do you not love me anymore?" The copy of Ariadne whined. Though she was annoying, the Architect and the Point Man both managed to keep their attention focuses on each other. Their words expressed their pain, but their eyes expressed their love. Ariadne wanted nothing more than to collapse in his arms, kiss him, and then cry.
"I… Fuck," she cursed. It was all she could say that expressed how she felt before she burst into tears. Arthur stood there, stunned. He had never heard her use fowl language, and for some reason it shocked him. After he recovered he felt an undeniable need to comfort her. In just three long strides he was embracing her. He protectively wrapped her into his body and held her while she sobbed.
"What are you doing?" The projection screamed. He immediately regretted having made his love into such an annoying woman. Regrettably leaving Ariadne for a few short moments, he grabbed the fake girl by the front of her dress and dragged her towards the edge of the Eiffel Tower. She did not struggle much, she seemed much more confused than anything. With no sympathy or worry he tossed her easily over the edge. The screaming was short and faded quickly. Finally free of the nuisance he resumed his hold on Ariadne, rocking her back and forth softly while she cried.
I know it seems out of character for Arthur to kill the copy or Ariadne so heartlessly, but having the real Ariadne there would realistically detach him from the copy right? Oh well. Anyway, review please! The more reviews I receive, the higher on the list of priorities this goes. So if I get a lot I will update faster. Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading!
