A/N: Please remember to comment your thoughts and share the story if you enjoy it!
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How do monsters love, before they lose their hearts to misery?
Do they learn to love the misery in their blood?
Or was misery always a crucial part of how they loved?
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Esther hated Mikael. He was her wildest dream and her most terrifying nightmare, all in one. He looked like an angel: kind, powerful and unworldly, beautiful. She only forgot even the Devil was once beautiful... but, by Gods, Mikael was too beautiful to be a monster... wasn't he?
Besides, Esther always wanted more than her small village, and Mikael—his company, his promises, his voice, his hidden love—was so much more than she could have dreamed. Esther loathed how his gentle eyes, tender smile and kind actions deceived her; tricking her into seeking him whenever she could. But, most of all, Esther hated much she loved Mikael.
Ansel had always been in love with Mikael. Since the first time they meet as young boys, playing together beside an angry shore... Ansel knew Mikael would be both his salvation and his ruin. Mikael was everything Ansel always wanted to be: strong, brave, powerful and beautiful... And yet, for all his qualities, Mikael was kind, so very kind. Mikael's affection and love was towards him was something Ansel could never understand. But he cherished it more than life itself.
But Ansel never had the courage to admit his love for Mikael. How could he, when Ansel saw his own nature as monstrous and his love as inherently wrong? Ansel could never accept his nature, the wolf living within his chest. It was a horrible curse... which Mikael promised to save him from, like a knight from a fairy tale. Mikael loved Ansel enough to save him, and he was strong enough to succeed. Still, Ansel knew not even Mikael could be brave enough for both of them, not forever. If he could not face his fears, Ansel would lose everything he had ever wanted...
Niko envied his older brother, Mikael. All his life, Niko lived in Mikael's shadows, unseen, unheard and afraid. It did not help that Mikael always treated him like a defenseless child, in desperate need of his protection. Still, Mikael could be as cruel as their father when he wanted to—especially when Niko annoyed him, usually by caring about his well-being. For Mikael's cruel words and jests, and for his lack of trust in anyone but himself... Niko hated him.
Yet he could not help but love his stubborn brother. Niko knew Mikael would always throw himself into the Devil's arms, if it meant Niko would be alright. Mikael had done so time and time again, putting himself between Niko and their father's, King Stoick, cruel wrath. Still, the only thing Niko ever wanted was for his brother to see him as an equal. And Niko could be just as stubborn as his brother in achieving his goals.
Dahlia loved her sister, Esther. She wanted her to be happy, even if she herself was miserable for it. But Dahlia hated being alone more than anything. The mere thought of it terrified her. She could never let Esther go, not even to find happiness. Dahlia always had her heart locked away, in fear any strong wind could steal it and break it to pieces. Her misery didn't so much as love Esther's company, as it hated the idea of loneliness.
But, for as cold as her heart had become, it was still beating strong. And the chance for love was not yet gone. The love of Kolga, a shield maiden and Mikael's sister, was right there... If only Dahlia had the courage to follow her heart and jump... If only she could listen to her heart... and understand what it tried so desperately to tell her.
Kolga adored her brothers, blood or not. She was the daughter of the Cruel Queen Aswar, and the most fierce shield maiden her people had ever seen. Yet, she had no say about what happened to her brothers, to the woman who raised her. All she ever strived for was the power to keep her brothers safe. She knew Mikael could protect them, but even the Great Destroyer could not face all the evils of the world.
But she also wanted a life of her own. A love to take her breath away. A friend to hold her when she was tired of holding the weight of her guilt and sorrow... she found such a person in Dahlia... if only Kolga could understand what her sweet witch wanted...
Ayanna Bennett loved her friends. They were the only family she ever knew. She would gladly fight in a thousand wars for them. If she could save her friend from their fates, she would do so just as gladly. Yet, if she could not protect and help them as they had helped her... then she would help avenge their suffering.
But Ayanna also wanted to be the mistress of her own fate. She could never leave her future to the whims of gods. She was a powerful witch and the descendent of a long line of powerful witches. It had to count for something. Ayanna would not allow her Destiny to be decided by others, even if her rebelliousness cost her soul...
Mikael only wanted to survive long enough to prove he was not weak. Most days, he barely even wanted to live... King Stoick, Mikael's father, had taught him to never want anything. His mother, the Queen Aswar, always said dreams were a weakness. All his life, Mikael's uncle, Silas, told him love was a lie only children believed. But, worst of all, his aunt Amara always spoke of Mikael, of his great fate, his future as a warrior, the Destroyer. He had asked her, only once, if she saw happiness in his glorious future. "We did not make you for it, my dear." Amara had told him. "Happiness was never meant for things like you..."
A thing. A weapon. There was truly no point in dreaming, wanting, searching for happiness or loving. They did not make Mikael for any of such human things. They made him for destruction. Things cannot love... But Mikael had so much love in his heart he barely knew what to do with it.
His only goal in life was to keep his siblings, and later his friends, safe and away from his father's wrath and mother's cruel games. But he could never tell them what his mother and father did to him as a punishment for his loyalty, and his love for them... If they knew... Mikael was sure they would hate him. He was sure they could not love him, but... their hate would destroy him...
Yet, on his way to becoming a mighty warrior, Mikael met Ansel and Esther. The two of them split his heart and taught him to want and to love. To their surprise, all Mikael ever wanted was to have a family, a quiet life with his friends and siblings nearby, and most of all, Mikael wanted to be a good father, be the man his father never was...
But perhaps it was too much to ask.
*
They all were nothing more than children when they first met. Naïve, hopeful fools, with so much love to give. They wanted so much; they dreamed so much...
Oh, how they loved!
If only their lives had not been cursed... If only monsters did not live in the shadows of their dreams...
Maybe they never stood a chance... if only they had tried hard enough!
Was their misery, their Tragedy, always inevitable?
A/N: I'm excited to work on this one again. I'll post the notes and cast soon too. PLEASE vote, comment your thoughts and share the story if you enjoyed it. Thanks so much for reading!