Me and the Devil: Sebastian Sallow

Chapter ONE TWENTY SIX - Burden of Chaos

(Parliament of Owls - Agnes Obel)

I couldn't pinpoint the exact moment I drifted off. The last I remembered was the brush of Sebastian's gentle fingers over my hip, his deep brown eyes watching over me, stars dusted across his nose and cheeks.

The black of sleep almost instantly dipped and twirled, forming a world fit only from my wildest wishes.

I dreamt of a landscape blanketed in pinks and oranges, cresting over a small hamlet just below an overlook of grassy cliffs and bright green forests. A large pear tree with sweeping, heavy branches overlooked a small nook of pillows and a basket filled to the brim with books. The wood handle wound up around itself twisting below a simple black ribbon. Each book, though titles unreadable from this distance, looked as intricate as the ones from the restricted section at Hogwarts though these appeared far more peaceful.

Sebastian sat against the thick trunk of the tree, one knee pulled up near his chest, knife carving small slices of pear carefully and dividing them equally between a small marble plate aside him and his mouth. Anne and Ominis crept along the cliff edge, fingers running through the tall grass as it blew slowly back and forth in the gentle breeze. Their giggles twisted among the blades and sunk against the earth.

The sun glinted through the leaves, warm and heavy against my face and neck, prickling against my fingertips and urging me forward.

Perhaps it was the absolute serenity that reminded my soul that it was all a dream. 

A small bit of my heart somewhere froze, fearing the worst nightmares and the edges of the sky wavered a bit. Thoughts of my last dream with the four of us gnawed at the corners.

Something warm pulled against my pinky, tight and comforting, vanishing all nightmares from my thoughts. Though when I peered down to my own slightly wavering hands, nothing wound around the smallest finger. The skin was left completely bare only marked by the smallest of freckles.

The ripples along the edges of the world settled and the gentle wind brushed against my right ear. It whispered I love you's deep below my unconscious mind and tugged at my heart with each crested syllable. The warmth at my pinky wisped away along with it.

A wind familiar to my heart.

"Atley."

A shift in the breeze. 

Sebastian peered over at me from under the tree, a piece of cut pear hanging from his mouth as he grinned and beckoned me over.

"Atley."

The air brushed slightly cooler now, as if a different wind entirely.

"Atley!"

I startled upright, heart sparked back to the cool hospital wing sheets and down pillows.

Ominis stood just aside the right side of my bed.

"Atley, where is Sebastian?"

Under the pear tree.

"What?"

"I came to bring him a fresh change of clothes but- Madame Blainey said she saw him leave."

I rubbed the sleep from my lashes and sat upright, the spot next to me cold, the imprint of his body completely absent.

"He was-" My sleepy voice clogged my throat and I coughed gently to clear it. "-was right here when I fell asleep."

My eyes swept the room. The dim candles flickered from above, moonlight ebbed between the shadows, night still clawed at the windows. Sebastian's chair sat empty just behind Ominis' legs, his own book bag hung over the edge but looked as if it had ben rifled through. The side table stood exactly as it usually was with piled gifts, ink and quills except for a small envelope that lay just on the corner.

I fumbled for it quickly.

Ominis quirked a brow in question but my eyes tore across the folded parchment, something sinking in my gut.

The front of the envelope swept plain aside for a small inscription in the center.

My Cabbage

Flipping it over quickly, the envelope nearly tumbled from my trembling fingers. Though I wished to be overreacting, these two words did nothing to ease my worries.

Forgive me.

"It's a letter from Sebastian." I muttered quickly, urging the last of my concentration out through panicked breaths.

Ominis said no more, remaining frozen where he stood.

Sebastian's penmanship slightly sloppier than normal yet scrawled just as beautifully as any of his letters before.

I should only hope you can forgive me for leaving you in the night, but it has to be done.

I know you will continue to blame yourself for Anne no matter the argument set against you.

You deserve a life where you can run through the rain, fly without fear, remember without pain, love without conditions... You deserve more than the dangers the Keepers have put you through and while I watched you fall asleep tonight and fell for you all over again, it became innately clear that I cannot stand the thought of you living with as much regret and self-reproach as I do.

You don't deserve a life of torment.

A life of "what if's" and unnecessary blame.

I am going to make this right.

For everyone.

I know what I have to do. You won't have to worry about ancient magic because there is another way to cure her and I know I can do it. Hopefully before you wake in the morning, all will be over and done with. 

Back to normal.

Perhaps you will never even read this letter.

Anne will be free of a curse she ought never to have.

You will be free of a burden of chaos of which I am without hope,

free of a blame unnecessary with a curse controlled.

I love you Atley Barlowe - more than there are stars in the sky.

And though you weren't awake to feel it, I pinky promised you that I would release your heart of that shackle of burden. That I would cure Anne for not only her sake, but for yours as well.

I know I can do it.

Sincerely,

Your incredibly dazzling, clever and loving Slytherin