With the final stroke of her paintbrush, Cassandra's canvas was completed. However, despite Vasan's compliments to the contrary, the brunette was not pleased with the final product.
"Eh." She huffed. "It looks terrible."
Nearly finished with his own painting, Vasan leaned over to inspect her skills. "Is this your first time painting?"
"First time in many years." She leaned back in her chair, gazing around at the rest of the poils who were in attendance for the event. Seated in a large field, the atmosphere was calm, though she blamed the soft wind for distorting some of her paint lines. Whatever excuse she could cling to, she thought.
"It turned out great to me!" Vasan tried to make her feel better. Cassandra emitted a short grunt before she decided to look at what he had done.
"What is that, anyway?" She asked.
"Well…" He rotated his canvas over to her so she could get a better view. "This is the homestead that I grew up in before I moved here four years ago. They don't have farms like this over in Joulin. I applied gentle brushes of orange to detail the glow of the Specter Moons during those beautiful dusk evenings that my family and I used to share together."
The painting was truly well done, and she couldn't help but admire his art skills. The glow of the Moons was reminiscent of the way the sun would shine over the fields in her own valley. During the autumn and winter seasons, there was that unmistakable yellow/orange hue to the crops that never went unadmired by the brunette. The mountains concealed the star before it could truly set, but she always found beauty in its dying glow in between the saddles of the enormous crests.
"You didn't grow up here?" She lifted her eyebrow.
"Yeah. My family packed up and traveled from Tyillioum to here when I was sixteen. They wanted to find a better place for me and my siblings to live and Joulin seemed like the only one to turn to." He breathed a small laugh and shifted his hair off from his forehead as he looked at her. "It's been a few good years. Still miss our old home. So many memories attached to that place."
Cassandra set her brush down on the shelf of her canvas stand, rotating her body so the two of them could face each other. "What was wrong with Tyillioum?"
He shrugged, unsure of how to explain it to her. "It's just...things weren't safe anymore. You think you're going to spend your entire life somewhere and then, in a flash, everything changes. It's not what it used to be; Tyillioum. People say the whole world is changing every day. Makes sense that eventually those changes would find us."
"Hmm." She nodded. "Do you think you'll ever go back?"
"I'd like to, someday. It'd be great to revisit the place where I grew up. Don't know if anyone lives there anymore. Still, the evening sky couldn't have lost its beauty." Vasan smiled as he re-lived the nostalgia of his earlier days.
Watching as he got lost in his own memories, Cassandra studied the young man, pondering how it was possible for his attention to go from one topic to the next so easily.
Like a dog chasing its next rabbit.
"I like sunsets," she admitted.
"What is that?" Vasan inquired; reminding Cassandra that there was still a strong difference in their world's verbiage.
"It…is something my mother used to call them."
"Call what?"
"Ugh." She was starting to get annoyed. "The Spectacle Moons, or whatever they are, when they go down at night. My family called them sunsets, happy?"
Vasan paused as he tried to formulate the next best thing that he could say to her. He saw the woman as the world's most complex puzzle, and he was desperate to solve her. However, each wrong turn was always risky and he could never guess how she would react.
"What are sunsets like where you're from?"
Cassandra took a moment to relax, recalling the fond memories she held of watching the sun dip behind the mountains that surrounded the village she knew all so well. "They're beautiful. The weather was not always permitting, so whenever the clouds would break; my sisters and I would enjoy watching the change in the sky. We lived in a castle, so the view was quite good."
"Oh," he said as he glanced over at the painting she had made, "is that your castle?"
Her content grin shifted into a faint frown as she looked back at the artwork. Indeed, it was. Cassandra had tried to recreate her home as best as she could remember it using the minimal skills she had for such a craft. The castle body was done in nearly all black – save for the edges that were lined in shades of grey and white. The mountains that surrounded the area were also coated in the same two colors, portraying the snow that she remembered on her final day alive.
Even the sky wasn't spared a dreary tone as the dull dawn morning was plagued with overcast. As much as she wanted to display brighter days, she clung to the last morning that she had known.
It was just like any other day…
"Yes," her voice grew soft, "it is. My sisters and I lived there our whole lives. To be born into the castle was the highest privilege that I could have ever received."
Vasan looked on with further curiosity as she explained the life she once enjoyed. "I've never seen a castle like that before. The architecture is stunning. I know you say you're not good at painting, but I can see the image that you're trying to convey. If such a structure has been crafted – it is indeed a marvel of this world's progress. Even the pointed rooftops are impeccable."
"It really was beautiful." She smiled as his words helped bring back the memories of her previous life.
"What is this white stuff on top of those mountains?"
She sat silent for a second or two before lightly shrugging her shoulder. "It's nothing. Just an idea."
"Well, your ideas are beautiful," he said. She could not ignore the warmth that it threw into her heart. The compliment was nice, and it seemed to make her feel better about how good her painting had come out.
"Thanks." She sat back in her chair, checking her dress for any signs of paint residue on them.
"You're welcome. I'd love to see what you can do next time!"
'Next time?' Ever so optimistic, aren't you?
"We'll see," she said. "I'm already running out of ideas as it is."
"Maybe I could paint you, one day?"
What?
"Paint me?" She asked. "Why would you ever want to do such a thing?"
He seemed to be getting a little more nervous. "Well, when you leave, I'm not sure if I'll ever see you again. I thought it would be nice to have a portrait to remind myself of our time together."
He's still chasing after me…
Cassandra tilted her head; trying to decide whether it was best to entertain his request or not. As much as she enjoyed his compliments – the thought of being in any relationship was unnatural to the woman. She did not want to lead him on and make things worse for either of them. Such an outcome was already likely once she approached him and asked if they could continue their afternoon together.
Holding his hand on the way out from that annoying duo had to have only driven his emotions deeper. She blamed herself for that, but at the same time – she did find some sour feelings when it came to the way she treated him earlier.
Her mind was starting to shift, and she still couldn't find the reasons why. Compassion and openness were more possible in a world like Locwitary. In her home realm, it seemed like she was locked into her old ways with barely any room to move about.
Love may have been impossible, but these human emotions were there, and she had to contend with them. And in doing so, she found herself moving ever closer to acting the same way these people did.
"If I allow such an activity…and that's if I do…" She warned him. "It better come out perfect."
Like a soldier to an officer's orders, Vasan sat up and spoke with a bold, theatrical tone, "I will do my best!"
It'd be nice to see an accurate painting of myself for a change.
Another growl broke inside her stomach, signaling what their next activity would be together. Vasan had learned enough about Cassandra to know that it was best to get straight to the task and not ask any unnecessary questions. There was only one that was appropriate.
"What kind of meal would you prefer?
A small moan rumbled from Cassandra's throat as she continued to scarf down the food that Vasan had bought for her. There was no question that the meal she had been provided did wonders to elevate the brunette's mood. The young man could only watch in delight as she smiled with each bite, throwing the pieces of hikan into her mouth without hesitation.
"Enjoying the food?" He chuckled.
"Mhmm." She chewed vigorously before downing the contents with some hindfek that he had also provided at her request. To see her happy was nothing short of satisfying to him.
"I didn't know you enjoyed hikan so much. I thought you said you weren't too fond of it."
"Whatever this sauce is that you have put on top of it is absolutely delicious!" An excited tone rose in her voice as she continued to pry at her plate, ignoring her utensils in the process.
"Kettlewood dressing," he answered. "It's an old recipe that some families use. Many prefer it on their meals as it changes the flavor completely."
"Well…" She piled more food into her gullet. "It tastes good."
"Happy to know." He began to cut up the vegetables and fish that he had purchased, taking small bites as she savored the sweet taste of the food. Unlike their last meal together – Vasan was wise to order her a much larger plate so that he would have time to enjoy his. "Didn't know you liked hindfek?"
"Neither did I until recently," she replied.
"Don't drink too much of it," he advised. "I wouldn't want you to be stumbling around this town."
"And if I do?" She teased, sending a ripple of heightened emotions throughout his chest. The way she had responded gave the impression of someone who was quite happy with her company. He knew better than to assume that she would give in to him and offer her heart in exchange for his, but the small tidbits of what he wanted were unshakable. His face blushed as he moved to consume more of the food.
"Uhm, then I'd have to carry you." He shook his head as soon as he realized the way that sounded. Cassandra's cackling did not do anything positive to remedy his emotions.
"Ah ha! Like you would ever need to. I can hold my own quite well, thank you." She trailed off her statement with a drawn-out giggle that he couldn't remove from his mind. Her mannerisms and way of conveying her thoughts were unlike anything he had heard before. Her angelic voice was fused with the strong sound of a dominant personality.
She invited him closer but held him so far away at the same time. He couldn't resist it. The urge to kiss her soft, dark lips was stronger than ever before. There was no other woman like her in the entire world and she was sitting in front of him right now. He knew that such a move would earn her unending fury, and yet, part of him wanted it.
He was weak to her charm and it was a weakness that he took ownership of. Cassandra Dimitrescu simply captivated the young man.
"Oh," he chuckled, "very well."
As she continued to giggle to herself, Cassandra let down her walls and decided to open up to Vasan a little bit more. The drinks were good, and the food was better. She could spare another moment of friendliness with such accommodations. "My sister hates whenever I drink to excess."
Vasan's head lifted. "Why so?"
"Because she doesn't know how to have fun," Cassandra laughed. "She's always saying, "Cassandra, you need to act proper" or "If mother saw this right now…" I swear she needs to loosen up." She took another sip of the liquid, downing it before she breathed a small cough and wiped her mouth.
Vasan chuckled, imagining the antics that a drunken Cassandra may have gotten herself into. "You drink often?"
"At times." She bobbed her shoulder and brushed some of her hair away from her right eye. "Usually when I am bored and not expecting to be needed for a while. My sisters enjoy a glass every now and then, but I guess I enjoy it just a little bit more."
"What's the funniest moment you've ever had with your sisters?"
"Hmm." Cassandra began to think about what her answer could be. There were a lot of good times that she and her sisters had shared together in the past. Picking one event above all else turned out to be exceedingly difficult for her. As the seconds mounted, she decided to go with the first one that she could think of.
"There was one day when Daniela and I both got so sick of Bela's demands that we spent the afternoon pretending to be her." She covered her mouth to stifle a laugh as she recalled the fond memory. "Daniela even made two little figures of us out of some paper and string. We'd take turns bossing them around, making up the stupidest chores that we could think of, or repeating things she usually says. We were having a good time but then Bela enters the room right in the middle of it; just as Daniela is acting like her." Cassandra could not hold back her giggles any longer and had to fight to get the rest of her words out through them.
"Bela and Daniela end up saying the same sentence at the exact same time and we just lost it." Cassandra paused to repeat the climatic line in Bela's often condescending tone, "'Dinner is going to be late tonight unless I fix things.'"
Vasan joined in and found some laughter to be had at the story. "How did she react?"
"Bela?" Cassandra breathed a bit so she could calm down. "Oh, she was speechless once she heard Daniela. If she said anything else; we couldn't hear her because we all just started laughing. All I remember after was her getting mad and storming out of the room. On the bright side: we still managed to have dinner on time…and with the added treat of her not wanting to talk to us for the rest of the night."
"Your sister, Bela, sounds quite authoritative," Vasan commented.
Cassandra settled down and casually began to take another sip of her drink, enjoying the taste as she felt its spark travel from her stomach to her shoulders. "She's my big sister and she takes her job so seriously. As much as I forget it; she does it because she cares." She sighed before downing some more to keep the relaxation inside her body going. "That's what big sisters do, right? They care…"
While he remembered how much she had hated him talking about his life, Vasan couldn't escape the urge to add some information about himself. While he would do his best to avoid rambling on, he hoped that it would help Cassandra find a sense of familiarity in their lives. "I have an older sister and an older brother. They both always pester me to get my chores done or to do this or do that. I listen to them because I must, but I wouldn't be telling the truth if I said that it didn't get annoying after a while. I'm kind of stuck being the youngest of the batch so the tables aren't going to shift in my favor any day soon. That being said: I'm happy to have them as they both have given me someone to look up to." Vasan smiled as he thought back to his siblings.
"My brother, Heffan, lives somewhere in the south end of this region. Haven't seen him in a year or two, but I heard he joined a group of men and women on a trek through uncharted territory. He was always the bold one. Wouldn't put such matters past him. Pallia, my sister, wants to get out and see Tyillioum someday. Something about our old home is calling back to her. She's a brave girl. If no one can go with her – she'll make the journey herself."
Cassandra stared at him with a look of genuine curiosity; different from the callous disregard that she had shown him hours before. "You must truly respect and love your siblings."
"They're the world to me," Vasan stated. "I want to do the same things they do but…eh…" He shook his head while looking down at his cup. "Maybe someday I'll be ready. Just got to get stronger, you know?" He paused when he realized how much he sounded like he was searching for her pity. Not wanting Cassandra to get the wrong idea, he changed course. "That day will come though. I'll just have to be patient. But yes; I'd be nothing without those two."
"You miss them a lot, don't you?"
"I do," his voice took a somber tone. "Ever since we left the life we had back there, I've always had trouble adjusting. New people. New places. They were able to handle it and I wanted to be the same. Now that my sister is trying to find her way back to our first home, I'm starting to think that maybe she missed it just as much as I did."
"And you believe that she felt the same way you did, but she didn't show it…"
"Exactly." Vasan sighed with a closed mouth, momentarily losing focus as his eyes drifted ahead. "We don't talk much anymore. No arguments. We sort of drifted apart. I think this may be my chance to reconnect with her. Maybe, she and I could have something in common again." He suddenly grew aware of how much he had spoken and decided to cut his monologue short. With a wave of his hand, Vasan turned the spotlight back to the woman in front of him.
"Enough about that. What about you and your sisters? You're looking forward to seeing them again?"
Cassandra sat still, looking noticeably sad. She curled the side of her mouth and slowly nodded her head, doing nothing to hide the way she felt. "Yeah," her words came out quietly, "I think I know how you feel quite well."
Vasan set his drink down, staring at her, concerned. "Are you alright?"
"Mmhmm…" She closed her eyes before her nod became a quick shake of disagreement with herself. "Ugh, no. I'm not," she confessed.
"Do you wish to talk about it?"
Her eyes reopened; pinker than before. There was a slight glisten on their surface that took the light from the Specter Moons and threw it back to the sky above. Her chest shuddered briefly as she tried to stay on track. A crack in her speech, "What does it matter? Talking about them isn't going to bring them any closer to me…"
Vasan stayed quiet for a moment as he watched her sit there. There was nothing but silence in the air as Cassandra lowered her head and steadied it with her hand; her elbow rested against the table. He struggled to find the best words to approach her with, only to find the chance lost as he heard her whimper.
Cassandra wiped her unseen eyes with the back of her wrist, pulling in a sniffly breath as soon as she cleared her arm. Vasan leaned in, hoping to be able to turn her back from her despair.
"Is everything alright?" A question that already had the answer, but one that had to be asked, nonetheless.
She took another breath. "I'm not going to cry anymore today."
His brows pressed together with a crinkled stack above them. Given how she had acted the entire day, he couldn't have imagined her having been brought to tears at any point. "Cassandra," he asked, "what is wrong?"
What's the point of the act? I should just walk away. If I stay, I'll cry. I'm not going to do this…
She began to rise from her seat, angling her head so that her hood completely obscured her face. As soon as she turned around, Vasan was already up and by her side. At first, she thought he had chased after her. It was only when she noticed the calmness in his voice that she realized how slowly she had moved.
"Please," he tried to comfort her, "I don't want to see you like this."
Cassandra lifted her head, glaring down at him with a frown and a sharp curve in her eyes. She looked downright infuriated – minus the pink eyes and lack of heavy breathing. Despite her angry appearance, she was no threat to the young man, and he knew it. A sudden flash of her white teeth and her words began to spill.
"What do you care?"
His hands rested softly along her slender forearm; removed as soon as she yanked her arm back. There was no hiding how much she intimidated him with her taller height and ferocious qualities; visualized by his eyes averted from hers. Yet, undeterred, he continued to stand in front of her.
With restlessness swelling inside her heart, Cassandra extended her other arm and pushed his shoulder aside. "Move."
As he was being pushed out of the way, Vasan suddenly spoke with a loud and confident tone that was unlike anything he had said before. "I lost a brother, once, Daven." His confession broke the rhythm of the air as she immediately stopped in her tracks and lowered her arm. Her eyes spread wide before they zeroed in on him.
Fighting through his own walls, Vasan pressed on. "He was the oldest in the family. After father died, he stepped up to take care of the rest of us. Everything that Heffan learned; he taught him. Pallia trusted in his support, and he protected her. Me being the youngest, I looked up to him more than anyone. He taught me how to read, write, farm – everything. I was a little child when we lost my dad. My whole life was spent under my brother's wing. I thought I'd have him around forever."
Cassandra did not say a word, but she continued to listen to him.
Vasan took a fast breath, ready to pour the rest of his past out. "One night, a fawn teleported into our home, right in the middle of our main room. She's hysterical; crying and begging for help. You could see the wounds all over her body. She was so bloody. Daven took charge and ordered the rest of us down into the underground while he took care of her. He told Heffan to watch over the rest of us. Pallia was as scared as that fawn was, but she took my hand and made sure I was alright. I looked at him and I could see the urgency in his eyes. He knew more about fawns than any of us."
Cassandra's lips parted. "What did he know?"
"They can only teleport so far and so often. Whatever had happened to her; it occurred close by." A few tears began to seep out of Vasan's eyes as he recalled his brother's final minutes. "We all take refuge under the homestead. Daven concealed the entrance to our location with a rug but we could still hear what was going on up there. The fawn could barely talk because she was so scared. Daven tried his best to calm her down and then she is finally able to start forming some words. At that moment – something entered the room and all we could hear was chaos. Things getting thrown around, screams."
Vasan brought the back of her arm up to his face to cleanse the sadness away but he buckled before anything could be done. "My mother was in the corner, clutching her mouth, desperately trying to not make her crying audible. She's rocking back and forth while Daven is getting attacked up above. Pallia and I closed our eyes while Heffan just sat motionlessly. I don't remember how long it lasted. All I know was that we stayed down below for a while after everything stopped. When we came out, we found Daven's body brutalized beyond all measure. His arms and legs are broken in so many places. Slashes all along his neck and chest. Blood is everywhere like he was dragged around. The fawn was found in the woods the following morning – what was left of her. She had been torn apart. Eaten."
The brunette's eyes dropped briefly as she pressed her lips shut.
Vasan paused his story as he turned his head to the sky above them, shifting his gaze to the trees in the far distance. "We left that very same day. Packed what we could grab and made our way here, hoping that whatever killed my brother wouldn't find us." His tears swelled up, obscuring most of his eyes as he fought to steady himself. His breathing quaked on the brink of losing all control. "Our family was never the same after that. Daven was what held us all together and he's gone. I look to my siblings to help me out, but everyone is too hurt. I'm scared to stand up for myself and fight because I'm afraid that I won't come home to my mother if I do. She can't lose another son…"
Stone-faced; Cassandra could not hold back her own set of tears as she stared at him. Vasan broke down then and there; his voice reduced to a shambled cry.
"I just wish it was me instead of him," he cried, bubbling with emotion as he sobbed. "I felt like a coward hiding under the house while he was being killed. I did nothing."
She slowly reached out and took him by the shoulders, pulling him close as she wrapped her arms around him. His face buried into the bend of her neck – the hot air from his breath filling the pocket of her hood. She lifted her head, resting her chin atop his head. The warm moisture from his tears saturated the skin on her collarbone as she held him.
His hands tightened around her black dress, grasping at it for comfort. Her soft skin was like a pillow coated in ornate jewelry – which ran along his lips and nose as he shifted against it. Her touch would not wipe away the horrible memories, but she helped form a barrier between hope and hopelessness.
Cassandra gently caressed his backside with her hands, hardly moving them from where they had initially found themselves. In all her years of living, never had she once done anything like this. There was so much time to consider the ramifications of such an action in contrast to who she once thought herself to be – but such inquiries were moot in relevance.
Whatever she was doing – she knew it was the right thing to do.
His whimpers picked up and his hold on her gown grew harder. His face had become sodden from the endless sorrows that escaped their confines, drenching her neck and chest as the streams trickled down. She could feel his ribcage buckle with each passing breath. Her fingers ran down his spine; feeling every bump of his vertebrae as they descended to its lower curve.
Cassandra felt another tear of her own leave the side of her left eye. Her neutral expression fell to a grimace as she thought about her family and what it meant to lose someone that she cared so much about. As Vasan continued to cry, she found the call to speak up and remind him that pain was a shared gift from the world.
"The last thing I remember before I ended up here was fighting a man who had come into our castle. I was about to win when he suddenly threw me through an opening in our wall and onto the ground dozens of feet below. I don't remember anything else after that. All I know is that he was still in there. He…somehow knew what he had to do to beat me, and I'm scared of what he would do…or had done to my sisters. Every second I spend here is a second away from them. Not knowing if they're okay is the worst part of it all."
As she stood crying, Cassandra could envision Bela and Daniela staring at her from the distance, engulfed by an ocean of flies that she could not assimilate into. They were not part of this world and were farther away than she could ever imagine. As her sisters stared on, the abyss gradually rose and swept them away.
Her chest rose and shuddered as she contained a wail behind her teeth. Her hand crept up behind his neck, shifting some of his hair aside as her face lowered. "I'm starting to give up on the idea that he let them live. I'm scared to go home if it means that I'll find what's left of them. I've never lost someone before and…" She let loose into his ear, "It hurts."
Vasan couldn't speak as he was still in the middle of his troubles; the vortex of sadness pulling him into the dark waters and not letting him come up for air. Hearing her words, he brought his arms up along her shoulders and closed what little space was left between them. Their bodies together; Cassandra's nose brushed against his cheek.
Her voice broke once more, "I was so horrible. I always screamed at my siblings and insulted them. I hit my youngest sister because I was mad at her, and I delighted in seeing her so broken. What kind of sister does that? I don't deserve to be here. I would do anything to go back and change what I've done. I've made so many mistakes and I just want to make them right."
Vasan had gathered himself enough to gain control. He separated his face from her skin, removing it from the opening of her hood and allowing her to curl her head around his. Her ear could be felt through the fabric against his temple. He caressed her back, gracing his index finger along the seam of her dress.
"I know my brother is gone," Vasan remarked. "Nothing I do is ever going to bring him back. I hope your sisters are still alive. But, from what I know, keeping this all in isn't going to change things. Talking to you has made me feel so much better. I want you to have that as well. You're going to be okay, Cassandra."
She took a breath and loosened her grip on him, rearing her head back so that she could look at him. Both of their faces glistened from the bottom eyelid, down to the corners of their mouths. Vasan lifted his hand to wipe away one of her tears, but she quickly took hold of it and moved it away.
"No, just…don't. I didn't want to talk about this." Her voice grew cold; almost unwelcoming. "Why couldn't you understand that?"
He stared back at her, dumbfounded beyond all belief. Her mind changed its stance so often that he could barely keep up. One second, she was empathetic – the next, she was as distant as the mountains. Navigating her was like sailing with no moon to guide the ship, dooming it to an eternity of uncertainty. Vasan shook his head.
"And I didn't want to talk about my brother – but, I had to. I'm tired of feeling the way I do every single day. No one seems to like me, but you know what? I keep trying. I try and I try because I know being alone isn't going to help. Then you come along, and I decided to try once more, even though every person with common sense would have told me to do the opposite." His voice began to rise, earning the attention of the others around them. Cassandra broke concentration as she shifted her eyes toward the onlookers, concerned that they would see them like this. Yet, despite such concern, Vasan did not waiver in his truth.
"I don't care if they're watching, Cassandra. Let them!" He continued with what he desperately wanted to tell her. "I mustered every bit of courage I had and asked you out and against the heavens: you agreed, even though you didn't want to. You degraded me the entire day and I should have gotten the hint. My fault. You were finally honest and sent me on my way, and then you came back, acting like you changed your mind. You're suddenly this friendly woman who is just so fun to be around. Then you're this sad person who holds everything in, and then when you start to talk about it, you…" He broke a small chuckle; much to her dissatisfaction. "You go back to being the resentful person I met earlier as if nothing ever happened. I'm not trying to make you feel worse by –"
"Well, you are!" She snarled at him. Vasan took a step back, feeling like she was beginning to lose control. He had to get to the point – fast.
"All I'm saying is that I want to see the real Cassandra."
The pain of confessing her sorrows was too great for the brunette. She had stuck her toes into the ocean and knew that if she stayed, the gentle waves would have formed into a tsunami of emotions. Vasan had managed to break through her threshold with his own loss, and that wound had to be sealed and the defenses needed to come back up – otherwise, the infliction would only grow.
She wanted to do better but the fear of diving headfirst into everything that her life was composed of was something that she was not ready for – even though she wanted to be. Cassandra took a step toward him, her eyes wide with a sinister curl. Her nose crinkled as the corner of her lip folded. "You're about to see the real Cassandra if you do not stop talking about things that I do not want to talk about…"
"I was wrong." Vasan remained defiant. "I already saw the real Cassandra. She's a kind, sympathetic, and loving person. Who are you?"
His fists clenched at her side as she took one more step closer, her face inches away from his own. She peered down at him like a hawk waiting for its prey to make one wrong move. She spoke calmly, yet sternly. Concise, but on the brink of instability. "You don't deserve someone to talk to. You don't deserve love. You're feeble and weak. I only came back because I pitied you. Now, get away from me, Vasan."
He rolled his lips, releasing a tear as he let her words pass by in his head. The sting had to be endured, lest he crumbled like she wanted him to. If it wasn't for their conversation just seconds ago, he probably would have. But, knowing what he knew now, he decided to persevere through everything he once thought about himself.
He had to be strong.
He stared back at her as firmly as he could. "You deserve to have someone listen to everything you have to say. You deserve all the love in the world. You're strong and beautiful. And if you ever need me, I will always be here waiting for you, Cassandra. You deserve to be happy."
Time became fluid as he watched her eyes widen and her scowl morph into a pair of gentle lips that parted from each other. She stepped away, astonished to all hell. He was so lost in her amber eyes that the punch she had struck him with did not register until he was already on the ground.
His jaw rocked back, and his bottom lip fused with his teeth. The side of his neck exploded in a swift crack that would have otherwise felt good under normal circumstances. He lay on the dirt, staring up at the sky until the hooded silhouette of his pale companion hovered over him; much like their first encounter.
"Do you want to help me now?!" She screamed down at him in a flurry of anger. The rest of the townsfolk looked on in horror, some gasping at the sudden assault. Cassandra could not take her eyes off Vasan, who had earned her full ire. "Do you still believe all of that?"
As soon as he came to; Vasan offered the simplest answer he could muster. "Always."
Her hands descended on his neck, choking him as hard as she could. "What about now? Huh?!"
He fought to breathe through his compressed trachea, staring her in the eyes as he did so. The resistance that he gave was almost nonexistent. He merely brought his hands to her wrists and let her make the decision as to how this would end. Cassandra's face was embroidered with a wrathful fury, but as she looked down at him, there was a hint of hesitation that was starting to grow.
Her grip on his throat loosened as her hands began to unclench. Her lips pressed, wobbling against the bottom of her nose. She stared down at his face as he left the choice all up to her. She had killed so many people that such actions were second nature. However, she could not find the strength or will to harm Vasan any further. As angry as she was – she realized that it wasn't right.
She had to stop before more damage was done.
Her hands drifted from his neck, trailing down to his chest. Another tear broke from her eye. "Damn you," her voice quivered. "Why does this have to hurt so much?"
Coughing, Vasan inhaled a large pocket of air before calmly looking back at her. "Because the cost of love is the pain of loss. You love your sisters."
Her eyes squinted and her lips opened, bearing her clenched teeth. Another tear escaped along the bridge of her nose, coating her dark lips.
Before Cassandra could say anything; a blue aura tore through the air. Lia instantly became visible as she extended her arm and took hold of the brunette's shoulder. The fawn's face was enraged – filled with the utmost urgency in its expression.
Without any words spoken, Cassandra felt her body become weightless and the scenery around them shift into a bright blue before gravity retook its hold. The glow of the woman's magic evaporated in less than a second and she found herself back inside the castle – Vasan in tow.
The young man was speechless as he was still processing everything that just occurred. The sudden shift in the environment had thrown him for a loop as he had never experienced anything like it before. Cassandra, meanwhile, was all too aware of what was happening, and to be in the company of Lia again was anything less than comforting.
"You…" Lia raised her hand at Cassandra. "Get off of him."
Realizing that she was still on top of Vasan and holding onto his shirt, Cassandra released him completely before standing up and facing Lia. She steadied her composure, clearing what signs of sadness remained on her skin. "Happy?"
"Don't even start." Lia continued to hold her hand outward, ready to dispel an onslaught of her magic if the need called for it. As patient as she was; she seemed a hair's edge away from sending whatever force she could conjure. It was almost like she was waiting for an excuse to do so.
A short groan from Cassandra was all she could say before she glanced over at Vasan, who was now beginning to pick himself up off the stone floor. He looked around, marveling at the interior of the castle. "This place is nice."
Lia's eyes remained firmly set on Cassandra. "Shut up, Vasan. This is your fault, too."
"What?" He asked. "Why?"
The fawn's voice rose. "Because you decided it would be a wise idea to take her outside of this castle when you've seen how she is."
Vasan coughed again before he stepped over to Lia's side; hands raised to calm her down. "Look," he said, "I don't always make the best choices."
Lia agreed firmly. "You don't."
He nodded his head with a bittersweet roll of the corner of his mouth. "Yeah, you're right. But everything was okay. Cassandra wasn't going to hurt me."
She finally turned her attention to him; flabbergasted at what she perceived as his total stupidity. "How dense is your skull, Vasan? Does nothing get through to you at all? She is violent! You've witnessed it first-hand and yet, you still believe she wouldn't?"
Cassandra could not take any more of Lia's remarks and stepped forward to confront her. "You know nothing about me."
Lia immediately shot a wide-eyed glare at the woman across from her. A sharp curl of her thin lips was the first reaction before her open palm condensed into an accusatory finger. "I don't? You're a psychopath, Cassandra." She stopped to correct herself. "No, a sadist. You don't give a single damn about whatever happens to those around you. You don't care about the suffering of others. All you do is revel in it!"
Cassandra's breathing picked up and snowballed into deep, heavy exhales as her frustration multiplied.
Lia paused, lowering her arm just a little. "You know I'm right," she said.
Cassandra held her breath for a moment of venom. "And you're a miserable fawn with no friends. So, what's wrong with you?"
As soon as she heard that, Lia's eyes narrowed and the curl to her lip grew sharper. "What did you just say to me?" She began to approach Cassandra, fingers tense at her sides.
Weary of the fawn's powers, Cassandra stood her ground, knowing that a physical conflict may not last long – or in her favor. "You heard me."
"No, I didn't…" Lia's threatening demeanor heightened. She suddenly shoved Cassandra backward with a swift push. "Say that to me again!" The brunette stumbled, catching herself on the wall behind her. The assault was something she did not expect – but something that would not go unanswered.
"Don't get too angry, Lia." Cassandra's face pulled a dark-hearted smile. "I wouldn't want you to burn up."
Like a light switch; Lia's composure fell from her grasp. A blue energy sprouted along her hands as she shouted at Cassandra. "Don't you ever dare –"
Vasan stepped in before their fight could intensify any further. "Lia, please, stop. Cassandra has some things she is fighting through. There is more to her than you think."
Lia turned her anger away from Cassandra and directed it to Vasan just as Milo began to emerge from the corner of the stairs. "What do you see in her? What?! No woman of sound mind would ever do the things she has done and yet, you believe there is good in her? You are blinded by foolishness, Vasan! Foolishness and lust!"
"We both come from grief. Whatever she's experiencing, and how she is living with it, it isn't for us to judge," he argued. "She's made her mistakes but that doesn't change the good I see inside of her."
A fire erupted behind Lia's stare. "She can't be helped; don't you get it?"
"Please, all she needs is to return to the region where she is from. I want to help her."
Lia's hands rose near the sides of her face as she was closer than ever to blowing up on him. "Argh! What is it with you? She's not your friend! She's not even from this realm!"
Lia finally caught her words, but it was too late. A heavy silence filled the room immediately. She noticed Milo at the corner of the wall, milliseconds away from having said anything that would have prevented the mess that she had just created. The man bowed his head with a sigh, lowering his shoulders. The fawn knew that there was no turning this around now.
She shook her head at herself, disappointed in such recklessness. "Damn it…"
NOTES:
Welcome back! Hope you all enjoyed this latest chapter!
So, this one got a little heavy. Cassandra has finally opened up about her pain to someone and it was too much for her. She dived head-first into another tragic mistake, but in the end, she was able to salvage some of the damage. We've learned of Vasan's own tragic past as the dots are beginning to form. Death knows no realm.
Cass and Lia are finally back, face to face once again and the tension is even higher. Lia's own anger has seemed to have gotten the better of her and she has let the truth about Cassandra slip. Vasan may now know, but is he the worst of their troubles?
We're almost into the second phase of this story and make no mistake, things are about to escalate. Cassandra and Lia are hurtling towards an inevitable clash that will forever change both their lives. At the same time, Locwitary's own dark secrets are slowly starting to come to light.
Something is killing the fawns.
Expect the next chapter to be lengthier and filled with a mix of emotions as we find Lia sharing just as much spotlight as Cassandra. Thankfully, the wait will not be long as that chapter will release on the 20th. This story is only going to get more intense from here on out. I can't wait to share what's in store with you all!
Follow this story on Archive of Our Own to check out the latest artwork that I created for this chapter! Every chapter gets at least one!
As always, thank you all so much for everything you have given this story! We're almost 1/3 through and it's been so much fun thus far. You're the best readers I could have asked for and I'm always thinking about you when I write this material. Thanks again for the inspiration you've all given me since day one! I can't say it enough :)
Until we meet again, stay well and safe, and enjoy the days ahead! Looking forward to next time!