Feli had finally reached the tower. She jumped down from the horse and shouted "Ludwig, let down your hair!"
She cursed as she saw that nothing happened. Deciding that hair or not she was going to get inside the fucking tower, she started climbing its stem bare-handed.
But when she had reached a couple feet, Ludwig's glorious braid fell from the window. Feli sighed in relief and used it to reach the window.
As soon as she reached the top, she got in saying "Ve, Ludwig, I thought I would never see you aga..."
But something was wrong. Ludwig was in chains, a piece of cloth blocking his mouth. His eyes got wild as he saw her. He tried speaking through the gag, moving against his bindings frantically.
and then a sharp pain erupted in her stomach. She shrieked and looked up. A grey-haired man with a long scarf had just stabbed her. She fell face down, hitting the floor hard.
The grey-haired guy towered over her, still holding his blood-stained dagger. "Look what you made me do, Ludwig. It's your fault that this thief will die."
Then he went to him and started pulling at his chains, dragging him to the secret passage. But Ludwig was struggling with all his might against Ivan. Who was starting to lose his patience.
"Stop struggling, damn it!"
With a last, strong lurch, Ludwig managed to make the gag fall from his mouth.
"No! I will struggle forever! I'll always try to run away! Don't think that I'll follow you like this!But... but..." he swallowed.
Ivan got curios. "But what?"
Ludwig closed his eyes. "If you let me save her, I will come with you with no resistance. Everything will be back to the way it was before. I will even let you use my hair again. But please, please, let me heal her!"
Feli didn't like what she heard at all. She gathered the strength to speak and choked out "No, Ludwig! Don't!"
Ivan looked at him. Letting the girl live was dangerous... she knew of their secret, after all. But then, she looked in love enough to not go around babbling about it. And her life in exchange of a endless supply of Ludwig's power... it sounded like a fair deal...
He snorted and gave a very creepy smile. "Alright. Deal."
He unchained Ludwig and let him run to his (he couldn't suppress a mocking huff) love.
Feli was on the ground, her blood coating the floor. Ludwig kneeled beside her.
"Feli, I'm so sorry... hang in there, it's gonna be cool..." that said, he unravelled his braid from his waist and started wrapping it around Feli's stomach.
She tried to push his hands away. "No, Ludwig... you can't... I can't let you do this..."
Ludwig suppressed a sob. "But I can't let you die!"
Feli tried to sit more upright than she was. "... but if you do this... you'll be held captive for... the rest... of your life..." Damn. Even speaking started to look like a daunting task to her...
Ludwig held her hand. "Don't worry. I've lived seventeen years locked up in a tower. I'm... I'm used to it. It'll be alright. I'll be fine."
Feli coughed again. And this time it was blood.
She started crying. It was true that Ludwig was used to living hidden away from the world, but now that he had experienced real life... he had been in dangerous situations and happy ones, and he had looked so happy...
She had to think fast. She used her hand to try and get up, and in the process she touched something on the floor. All of a sudden, she thought of a way to save him. She took a deep breath and weakly said "Wait, Ludwig... just a moment..."
That said, she put her hand on his hair, stroking it lightly.
Ludwig leaned in to her touch, wrapping an arm around her waist to pull her in for their first and last kiss. He really didn't expect what happened next.
Feli suddenly grabbed his braid and used the last of her strength to gather a shard of the broken mirror and severe his plait at the base.
Before Ludwig could realize what had happened, he heard Ivan scream wildly "NO! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!"
Ludwig turned towards him. Ivan's eyes held a crazy look. "YOU BITCH! YOU DON'T REALISE WHAT YOU'VE DONE! I'M GONNA KILL YOU, WHORE!"
But as he jumped towards Feli, dagger in hand, Ludwig got between them, grabbed Ivan's scarf and pulled it so that it would choke him. Ivan gagged, wild look still in place. As he was struggling to break free, he tripped over Ludwig's now useless braid on the floor and fell out the window. Ludwig instinctly moved to avoid his fall, but there was nothing he could do. Ivan's scream stopped all of a sudden as he it the ground, 80 feet below them.
Ludwig swallowed, then ran to Feli, kneeling by her, gathering her up in his arms. Her eyes were closed, her breath was shallow, and she looked in so much pain...
"Why have you done this! I can't save you anymore now! Oh my God, Feli! Oh my God..."
She opened her eyes.
He couldn't spot regret in them...
She gave a weak chuckle and said "It's okay... Ve, you're free now... find a new dream... for me..."
Ludwig hugged her tighter. His voice shook as he spoke. "... I love you... so much..."
Feli gave a happy, tired smile. "... we should have... realised earlier, ve... I love you too..."
then she closed her eyes forever.
"No! NO FELI! Wake up! Wake up!"
But she didn't reply. She was now limp as a ragdoll in his arms. He couldn't suppress tears anymore. It was unfair! He had just found her, they could have had so much... a whole life ahead of them, destroyed by the man he had once considered his father.
He hugged her tighter, softly reciting the spell that made his power activate. He knew it was useless, but he couldn't keep himself from doing it.
"Flower, flower... gleam and... and shine, give me back what once... what once was... mine"
But his now short hair didn't glow. He cried harder, letting his tears fall from his cheeks on her now deathly pale ones. He cried and cried, but it did nothing to help her.
sorry for the delay. real life can be a right bitch. TT^TT