CURSED: FROM THE BEGINNING [D.M]

-(89) i'll die by his hands

ZILLIAH wakes up petrified and bound by a magic restraining chain, incapable of doing anything but darting her eyeballs around her line of vision frantically. The only thing she can grasp, sidelining the screeching in her head, is that she is behind the waterfall, frozen and in danger. And the danger? It's Theo.

As if on cue, he approaches her body laid upon the rocks, crouching down on his knees and meeting her eyes with a devious smile. "Hey darling", his voice filled with fake warmth reaches her ears, increasing the raging fire in her head. "I hope you're comfortable."

She cannot understand him. From the moment they met each other, he has been nothing but kind and friendly towards her and hence, she was too. But right now, he looks far from either of those-- like he has clawed at his face and shredded it off all its jollity and loveliness. Because right now, all she can see is pure evil and malice written across every inch of his face, not even leaving a mere inch for anything that resembled her old friend.

"You must be confused", he sighs, seating himself beside her, keeping him in her line of vision. "But don't worry, I'll explain it all to you."

The monster in her head screeches and screeches but she wills her mind to focus on breaking free of the chain on her hands and the man in front of her.

"Draco", he mumbles, the word a mere gasp-- a deep sense of longing hidden beneath. "Draco has been the bane and boon of my whole life."

The mention of her beloved's name grasps her full attention and she finds herself focusing on nothing but Theo and his words, forgetting to even care about the fire in her head and her petrified body.

Theo locks his eyes with hers and smiles, the skin near his eyes crinkling. And that's a sight she has seen countless times before but somehow, right now, it's different. Because right now, she can sense some pain hidden beneath it all. "We'll come back to him later", he continues. "But first, let's talk about my mother." He flutters his eyelids close as if he is dwelling in a specific memory. "She was beautiful. So damn beautiful. And I hated that so much about her. She had that kind of beauty that caught everyone's eye. It's what caught my father's eye. It's what caught that other bastard's eye too."

His jaw goes taut at the mere mention of that person and she can only imagine the rage he holds over him. "My mother was a whore, Zilliah. She married my dad with promises of love and longevity, fucked him, had me, and then went and fucked that guy and screwed our whole family over. She screwed my dad over. I still remember the way he collapsed when he understood that his wife was an unfaithful bitch. Even now, when I close my eyes, the heartbreak on his face is clear as daylight in my head."

He takes in a deep breath, the veins on his neck protruding. If controlled anger was a person, it would be Theo right now. "And to add to the misery she caused my poor father, she went and caught an incurable fever, some sort of curse or the other-- I'm not sure. I never cared for her health. But despite everything she did, my dad stayed by her side day and night, caring for her. It drained everything out of him, Zilliah." His voice cracks, like the emotions he is trying to keep inside himself, might break out at any given time. "And you know what she gave back to him? Spite. Pure spite like even the sight of that poor man disgusted her."

The words Theo speak starts digging a hole in Zilliah's chest from merely imagining it. She couldn't possibly understand how it was to witness it firsthand and bear all the repercussions of it. 

"My father was the perfect man in the world, Zilliah", he opens his teary eyes and meets her gaze. "The most loving husband, the ever-understanding father. He was so so perfect. Until that bitch went and broke him."

A tear slips past its cage and runs down his cheek and despite the pain in her and the situation he put her in, Zilliah wants nothing more than to wipe it off and hold him in her hands.