Run Away ✧ Sebastian Sallow

chapter sixteen

Honey by Just Friends

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Fifth Year

It was a Friday night. Or maybe it was actually Sunday afternoon? It was easy to lose track of time in the Undercroft. No one ever bothered Sebastian Sallow anymore when he was there so remembering what day it was or how long he was there was becoming unimportant for him to keep track of. But it did get lonely at times.

Be patient. That was the advice that his sister had given him and he was doing his best to follow it. However, it was easier said than done.

Antheia Wytners was always on his mind.

He had finally accepted that they were in a fight. Which was an odd thing to consider. Not that he had been the most experienced in relationships, but he was under the impression that you had to be together to be fighting. He thought he had been taking things slow and safe by hiding his feelings. Now it upset him to think he ruined his shot already. If they were going to fight already, then there were other things he would have liked to do before that.

Flowers didn't work. Owls delivered his letters to no return. Antheia was still mad at him and he had been running out of ways to apologize.

Nothing was worse than sitting in class and watching her as she avoided eye contact with him. It hurt how she avoided even speaking with him. It was like they were strangers again and he missed everything about her. Days were dragging into weeks.

Antheia had been running through his mind everywhere he went. The only safe place had been the Undercroft and even sometimes she would appear there too.

But there was a lot to understand about the relic and its secrets. If ancient magic wasn't going to be an opinion, then Sebastian would have to double down on figuring out his original approach using the dark magic source. It was easy to lose hours, days, even weeks, going through the dusty notes. Blood magic and dark magic were still new and dangerous topics to him. Everything he found needed to be cross-referenced with other sources to ensure it would work. And mostly it still didn't add up quite right to him.

"If you had ancient magic then that would make for strong blood, for a strong cure for Anne. You need Antheia's blood."

"No," He said out loud to himself. It was a cruel thought that would rise in his head and it upset him to think about. Hurting Antheia any more than he already had was out of the question. Somehow the thought would keep reoccurring no matter how much he tried to push it away.

"For Anne."

Sebastian decided it was time for a break. If he could just rest and come back with a fresh set of eyes, then maybe something less frightening would become more viewable.

Unbeknownst to him, it actually almost midnight on a cold Saturday night when the iron door to the Undercroft opened from across the room. His body froze in shock when he spotted her golden hair from across the room.

Antheia Wynters stood so far away and yet so close. Her dark doe eyes filled with tears that had left clean streaks down her dirty cheeks. There were even a few spots of blood that he could see on her chin. Her clothing was covered in dirt and ash and a once white blouse soaked with someone else's dry blood. 

Not a single word left her lips as she stared back towards him. It looked like there was something that she had wanted to say, but instead, her lips just quivered in shock.