ILLUSION || Jason Todd

FORTY-THREE

❝TRULY, MADLY, DEEPLY, I AM

FOOLISHLY, COMPLETELY FALLING❞

ONE DIRECTION, TRULY MADLY DEEPLY

For the first time ever, things were genuinely awkward between Jason Todd and Lorelei Hansworth. And she hated it. Every second of it. They were never one to hold an unpleasant atmosphere around them, even when Lorelei was in her phase of going back and forth with her opening up and letting people in. No, it had never been awkward before. At least not like this.

For the first hour after Jason ran off to the bathroom - which he ended up taking a shower, most likely to avoid Lorelei - the young mage was left with an emptiness looming into her heart. She barely moved from the couch, their conversation replaying in her mind. She fucked up, again, she knew that.

But the young mage held herself high when it came to honesty. She may dance around which details to share but she would never lie. Why would Jason prefer a sweet lie than the truth? The question was never about becoming Queen - though partially, yes, but that wasn't the thing he really cared about. No, Jason cared about the accessory to the question.

Would Lorelei choose him?

She couldn't drop the question from her mind. Her life was much simpler when she was alone. The ice blonde mage didn't have the harsh reality that sometimes the decisions you made hurt other people... or the decisions you didn't make.

Lorelei hadn't considered what would happen after her father died. She could co-exist within the two realms as Archmage, as long as routine visits to Centia were made and any duties were fulfilled. Being Queen meant very rarely - if at all! - coming back to this realm and it wasn't a duty she had thought about since her departure. It was always a back burning question left for another day. A thing left for when the time came.

It was her birthright to become Queen. That was the very reason she was crafted to become Archmage's weapon; to continue his ideologies and instil the utmost fear within her subjects. There would be no rebels, fighting against the crown, if they had someone to truly fear. Someone like Lorelei.

Archmage was a man of tyranny and his creation of Lorelei was unfortunately revolutionary for their magic. Nobody, not until him, had created a new type of magic. Yet, somehow, he had a new formula for Lorelei's artificial abilities. It was the beginning of change - one she did not want to see.

It was unnatural and messing with the laws of magic. Something she wanted no further participation with.

But... on the other hand... if she were to claim her throne, she could rewrite Archmage's wrongs with her own power. For that to succeed, she would need to leave this realm permanently. Which meant leaving Jason.

She didn't want that. She wanted to stay with Jason. He made her happy; she liked him.

The inner battle continued through her mind during her own shower. A short shower in comparison to her usual lengthy washes - the royal mage adored standing under the hot water, letting the drops fall down her body as it wrapped her in the comforts of vulnerability; but that was not for today.

It wasn't long after getting changed into clean clothes that she approached Jason, who sat staring at her tiara, with a small sentence explaining where she was going - out to find a dress for this evening. He gave a firm stare before nodding, telling her he would come along to find a tux along with mutters about avoiding Bruce.