𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒

Anima socios

It was afternoon and the last day of the eclipse, when Regan was wandering around the castle. She had been thinking about the fight all the time, but she hadn't seen Sirius anywhere. She had wanted to avoid him but she wasn't sure if he even was in the castle. The halls had been silent, with only servants around. She hadn't even felt his presence. It felt foolish to admit she missed him.

A servant had told her they were going to fight in the courtyard and that was where she was going. The courtyard was much far away from the castle. It was a large, open space, surrounded by perimeter walls. They had an arched layer and were made of stone, with towers at each corner.

The courtyard had four tall monoliths at each cardinal direction, each one carved with different creatures: an eagle, a griffin, a serpent, and a dragon. The pavement was made of stone and other than that, there was nothing else.

And it was scary how she was going to fight him there, since except for the monoliths, there weren't other places to hide. Yes, she could hide behind the castle's walls, but she'd look like a coward. The fight was supposed to be brave and honorable.

However, it felt like a lie. She didn't know what she was doing anymore. He was right. Maybe she did have feelings for him. It was bad, terrible even. But it was there. She couldn't deny it. She hated him, she wanted to hurt him, but at the same time... She didn't know. It was all so confusing.

And the worst, how could she have this fight when all she could think about was how he caressed her face that morning, how he was so gentle with her? She told her mother about all this because she couldn't keep it to herself, she needed someone to understand.

Her mother was against that duel thing. She was worried and all, but Regan couldn't back down now. If she did that, he'd haunt her for the rest of her life. It was better to get this over with, she thought. But what if she lost? He'd keep saying that she had feelings for him and that she should be with him. She couldn't let that happen. She'd find a way to beat him, to make sure he'd never say that again.

She turned back to her chamber, her mother was there, waiting for her.

"Sweetie, you don't have to do this," Octavia said when Regan turned back in their room."

"I'm not going to kill anyone, mom," Regan said.

"It's not that, my dear. It's something else," her mother said, her gaze on the floor.

"What is it now, mom?" Regan asked.

"About the bond," Octavia said, weighing the words carefully. "There's something you don't know about it."

"What?"

"There's something factual about it but seems like no one told you," her mother said, taking Regan's hands in hers."

"What is it, mom? Say it," Regan said, becoming impatient.

"The bond....I mean, these types of bonds that occur between two who have no blood connection, they link the two together by soul and that....that means they're soulmates."

Octavia's words hit Regan like a slap on the back of her head. "Wha....what? What does that mean?"

"It means thay the most recent keepers of the eternal ember are soulmates," Octavia said in a breath, her voice trembling slightly. She had never wanted to say that, but Regan didn't know anything about it. And she couldn't just let her daughter not know something like this. "And the current last keeper of the eternal ember is and you and him."

"Mom, no!" Regan exclaimed, rising from her seat, "He's not my soulmate, that's ridiculous!"

"He is, Regan. You can't change that. But you can chose to not act upon it. You can chose to forget it and to not let it dictate your life or your decisions."