── ✧✧ IF IT'S A MILLION TO ONE !! ))

[faelyn]

┌──────────┐

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✧ perspective;; gordo ✧
✧ location;; pirate ship ✧

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└──────────┘

i had always heard of those endless fairytales.. fairytales that foretold a staircase leading to the angels.
a staircase to heaven.. a magical ladder ascending to a place of dreams. it sounded almost too good to be true, a thing plucked straight from a fairytale.

but, the question was.. what about a staircase to hell?
because that was what i was climbing.. a ladder ascending to a place of nightmares and chaos. the rhythm of music reaching a screeching crescendo. the sound of souls battling for a chance for one more day.
one more day to live.

and cielo was the first to see it.
he was always the reckless one. the first to jump straight into the deep end of the ocean and the last to ever utter something of bitter intentions.

it was so clear.. even now.
even in the chaos.

but together, as a trio.. we danced through it.
we danced a rhythmic tango that cradelled us towards the edge of the ship.. whirling in a bout of dips and spiralling turns as the ship rocked.
back and forth.

all was serene.. as serene as it could ever be in the screeching disarray. the clash between hoods and hooks, the bellowing curses of the captain as ruby welted against his dark curls.

all was serene.. until i saw them.

a flash of prancing shadows.
a glimpse of a hood.
they were onto us. i could sense it.

“cielo!” my voice had weaved into the hollering symphony.. a crescendo in the rain.
but.. sacrifices needed to be made.. for the hooded shadows were lingering closer. their footsteps dancing against the splintered tiles.

it was too late.
they were already here. hot on our tails.

and sacrifices that needed to be made for the both of them.. no matter what things they had done. because.. nothing could ever compare to the things that i have done.

the terrible.. terrible things i have done.
things that can never be redeemed.

i had to do this.

“cielo.. take miss mysterious off the ship.” paws dancing across his, i glanced up at the tom.. watching as those cerulean eyes blossomed with an emotion i have never seen. confusion? “and do me a favour.. get the hell out of here.”

[faelyn]

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✧ perspective;; elowen ✧
✧ location;; pirate ship ✧

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└──────────┘

i was so numb… as if an entire winter solstice had captivated my heart’s core.
gordo? out of everyone… the spitfire with a tongue fashioned of iron? the one who had always been the first to spit out what first came to mind.

it never made sense.
questions… thousands of them were like a lyrical song on my lips. bittersweet as reality seemed to dissolve all around her in soft rippling hues.

for a cat whose heart had been set on fire a few moments earlier.. it didn’t seem like gordo to just- to just.. run off into the shadows, right into the arms of the enemy, just to… sacrifice himself.

he was desprate.. desprate to win us time.. the most precious gift of all.

“hey.. we need to go.” the ship seemed to tremble at the deep ebb of cielo’s voice.. the most thunderous of timbres blossoming like falling rain against cobblestone. “we don’t have much time..”

“gordo.. your friend..” the little spitfire had already gone, stirring up chaos above their heads. thunder exploded in the skies, blooming like a mushroom cloud in the darkness above. “why? why would he-”

it came to me then.. as vibrant as a firefly in a glass jar.. lighting up the skies.
here we were.. cielo and i, delicately balanced over the edge of the rocking boat.

the oceans were like butterflies, frolicing a swaying dance beneath the stormy skies. their soft periwinkles wings aglow in the shadows. the waves seemed almost carnivorous.. begging for a chance to swallow us whole. welcoming us into its embrace. it struck me then.. because this was the plan.

the plan was to jump. jump into the oceans below.

“shush.. luana.” it was a whispering song echoing close to my ears.. my eyes fluttered to the ones that peered down at me. cerulean eyes still as serene as ever. “on three.. alright?”

the lullaby of falling rain was all i heard, the desolate sound of weeping angels. their tears staining my curls until they drooped like the flag that sagged against the pole. a flag marked with a skull.

it was almost as if it knew.

cerulean eyes were in a trance on mine.. serene even as wine brighter than the stars spilled down from the heavens. those eyes.. they never flinched as the skies were shattered.
as the angels wept.
as together.. we plummeted into the butterflies of blue below. into the embrace of the sirens.. the sirens of the deep. into their protection as the world behind me blossomed into flames.

but reality wasn’t filled with the beauty of dancing flames.. no, no. it was far from that.. because really, all i saw were stars. constellations.
i saw entire galaxies.. even as the waters swallowed me whole.

[faelyn]

┌────────────┐

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✧ perspective;; cielo ✧
✧ location;; ocean -> the shores ✧

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└────────────┘

“luana!” she was gone. gordo was gone.the flames took him. the waves took her.

no. but they couldn’t be.. not both of them.
“luana!” butterflies of blue fluttered onto my lips, choking me as the sirens seemed to pull me further down into their embrace.

but, i wouldn’t let them.. not now.

ruins poisioned the waters.. staining the delicate blues a shadowy black.
my heart was a drum.. beating a crazed rhythm within my chest. i couldn’t think.. not while the shrieks of drowning souls chasing away every thought.

it was dark.. so, so dark.

but, there was a time where i had once heard that in the darkness.. there’s always light. even if it was just a glimpse of it. a mere blip. and that.. it had never been more true.
because i saw her.

“luana!” i didn’t think.. didn't hesitate as my fingers found hers. i touched her. arms around her, tugging her to the sodden shores. whose gold hues had become a sickly beige.. washed out and faded.

it was the last thing i thought would give me so much hope. more hope than i’ve ever felt.
and my hope.. it was well founded.

“luana.. can you hear me?” trembling, i couldn’t hear myself. not in the whistling rain and roaring thunder. but, i heard her.

her breath dancing ever-so delicately on her lips.
she was alive.

but- but.. i wouldn’t be for much longer.
i could feel it. the slowing rhythm of my heart.. every bone, every rose blossoming in my veins.. all of them were freezing up. frozen in time.
the effects of her curse was sparking to life.

i should’ve let the oceans swallow her whole. leave her with the sirens. they would’ve taken care of her.. wouldn’t they? she was still a stranger to me.. still nothing more than her name. luana. but something about her.. there’s something about her that makes me feel alive. more alive than i’ve ever been.

even as my own life was slipping away.. a precious gemstone stolen from my gra-- it hit me then.

the potion. ed’s potion.

i hadn’t noticed it before.. i hadn't noticed the glass bottle dancing in the arms of the ocean. bobbing beneath the waves. the ivory glisten of the glass flask was dazzling, even in the storm.
and i dove in.

my heart was still beating.. even as i gagged upon the seas. even as the broken pieces of the ship were like knives against my skin.
the world was against me… but today.. today i conquered the world. downing the glass to seal my victory.

[faelyn]

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✧ perspective;; elowen ✧
✧ location;; the shores ✧

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└──────────┘

i was lulled to sleep by the stars.
i dreamt of the constellations.
but i woke up to an entire galaxy.. a galaxy captivated in cerulean eyes.

the sea still lingered on my breath, the sting of salt bubbling at my throat. but there was a serenity that came with it, a sense of peace even in a place that was a stranger to me.

“luana? are you alright?" it was a lyrical twist of words.. a soft, gentle stream that i never expect to hear with mila... with mila gone.

where was she now?with the angels? trapped beneath flora’s core?
or maybe she was-- no, it was foolish of me to think like that.

“i-i..” i wasn’t sure what to say.. not in front of him. not while cerulean eyes still gazed down at me. gentle.. too gentle. “how long have i been-”

“a couple nights.” watching me ever so intently, cerulean eyes were as bright as ever.. “how are you feeling? you took quite the blow."

“b-blow? i..i don’t understand.”
but then i did.

the night flooded back to me.. the fire, the waves, everything. from the littlest of details to the feel of waves against my curls, i remembered. he... gordo was gone.

i knew all too well.. and i think cielo knew it too.

“i.. i’m sorry about gordo.” breath caught like a butterfly in my throat, i glanced up at him and all i saw was… was nothing. a blank mask that seemed almost unnatural. “i- i should leave, i’ve caused you enough trouble and- i’m just really sorry-”

“you should stay.”

such simple words.. with meanings that i could never follow. i wished i could stay.. i wished that i had gotten to know him better. both of them.

but, i’m a witch.. aren’t i?
a twisted serpent with a songbird’s voice.

i can’t stay.

stumbling to my toes, reality seemed to quaver at my touch as if every one of my curses were spilling out across the blossoms beautifully stretched out across the fields.

it was only then when his paw found mine.
it happened so quickly.. the scream dying in my chest and the flutter of ravens as they fled at the sound of a witch’s cry. i couldn’t breathe. i couldn’t see. i couldn’t hear. i couldn’t do anything.

i was frozen in time.. locked in a forever trance.

“shhh.. it’s alright, luana.” every touch was unlike anything i had ever imagined. the softness of his curls against mine. the gentle brush of his paw cradelling my cheek, catching tears as they fell. one by one. “look at me, luana.”

i could almost hear the angels and their cries as i looked up. looked at those cerulean eyes that hadn’t yet been turned into stone.

“i- i don’t understand.. you should be-”

“dead, yes.. i know.” the blankness that had once adorned his features were replaced with a gentleness that seemed almost surreal. “i’m already dying, luana. touching you more won’t make a difference.”

“i.. more? i don’t-”
“you don’t remember?”

[faelyn]

┌──────────────┐

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✧ perspective;; elowen✧
✧ location;; in the past // the ocean ✧

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└──────────────┘

i was back. back and dancing with the sirens.

butterflies of blue spiralled all around, welcoming me. pulling me down.

down.
xxxxdown.
xxxxxxxxxdown.

and.. i couldn’t fight it.
it was a deadly tango that i couldn’t dance.. a game rigged against me. it was an elaborate game of chess, but i was the pawn. another sacrifice to be made to the sirens.

but i would fight while i could.
the waters parted, a false illusion of hope as desperation took over, cradelling me to the surface. even if it was just for a moment.

“cielo!”
the sirens dragged me down once more.. and i was alone. alone in the swirling waters. alone as i gagged on the seas. choking. begging for a taste of air.

i was so alone.. until arms embraced me and tugged me to the surface, pulling me close as stars danced ballet across the skies.

[faelyn]

┌──────────┐

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✧ perspective;; elowen✧
✧ location;; the shores ✧

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└──────────┘

“it was you.”

reality was cursed with a hush.. a deathly silence that fell over the woody dales with a beauty beyond anything i had ever heard. “w-why? i-i don’t even know you.. you don’t even know me.”

nothing.
not even a peep.

“why, cielo? why do it for me?” my own voice was like a never ending echo, a blossoming flower that seemed to flourish in the silence. “i’m a witch.. a nobo-”

“don’t say that, luana.” his touch. his voice. every note that he sang. it was too much. i wanted to run.. hide. shut whatever pieces of my heart back where it once was.. where i thought they belonged.

i was so wrong.
“never say that.. alright? promise me that, because you, luana.. ” a delicate pause.. a beautiful blip in reality as it crumbled all around me. “you are much more than that.”

he was stranger to me, and i to him.
we were so far apart.. but our hearts were so close. so close that they were one. each beat, each rhythm.. was intertwined, entangled together.

a twist in fate.
“i-i promise.. i promise, cielo.”

[faelyn]

┌──────────┐

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✧ perspective;; elowen✧
✧ location;; the shores ✧

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└──────────┘

time had never been more precious.. but it had never gone by so quickly.
he was fading.. cielo was fading. every moment, his soul was being whisked further and further away. like the lap of ocean kissing the shores.

but he was still here.
all around me, lips against my curls, a promise to keep holding on. his laughter, a oath that he would always live in my memories.

our hearts still beat as one now, just more broken. aching at each beat after he told me. told me that he only had three moons left. the potion… it had only bought him so much.

three moons.
three moons that i had taken in vain.

[faelyn]

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✧ perspective;; elowen✧
✧ location;; the shores ✧

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└──────────┘

had i taken every moment for granted? every second of his soft laughter for nothing more than a mere memory.. had it been nothing more than that?

“cielo? can you hear me?” his gentle breath had become nothing more than a rasp.. his lovely curls frozen in time, trapped in crystals of periwinkle.

it was spreading, now.
little jewels exploding across his beautiful features.. the slowing beat of his heart as the gentle cerlean depths of his eyes glazed over.
the glassy look, each of them always had.

“ci- cielo?”
“i’m here, luana.”

every syllable was drawn out.. a deep, gentle vibrato that soothed each aching beat of my heart, just like it always done. “there must be something i can do, cielo.. just tell me and-”

“hush.. it’s alright, i chose this for myself.”
“i think that’s called decency.”

a soft grin embellished his features.. something that seemed so familiar yet.. so, so strange. “there we go.. i always knew there was some spine in you.”

“i..” i couldn’t do it.. couldn’t say it. words were so faraway, like they’ve always been, but i reached for them. reached for the words that my mind refused to take in. “i want you to stay, cielo.”

“you know i can’t, luana.. i chose this.”

i was breaking. i shouldn’t be like this.. but i am. i am greedy. i am selfish. i want more of the blessings sent from the angels.

i want more of him.
“i don’t want you to leave.” i only just found you.

there was nothing.. the deep vibrato of his voice was stolen away from reality. frozen on parted lips.
i could see him, now.

eclipsed by the fallen moon.. and stars alike, i could see him. a beautiful figure embraced by the shadows of angels coming close. angels that were waiting to take him home.

“i need you, cielo..”
this time.. he didn’t even try. didn’t even try to say something. to utter a beautiful twist of words that would soothe the wretch of a mess i had as a heart.

i wanted him to say something.. anything.
he didn’t.

and beneath the ribbons of moonlight that fell from above.. tears enough to fill an ocean plummeted to the earth below.

[faelyn]

[faelyn]

┌──────────┐

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✧ perspective;; elowen✧
✧ location;; the shores ✧

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└──────────┘

it was only then when the shadows started to shift. shift to reveal a hooded creature.
my lips parted.. parted to unveil the chorus of silent screams. concealed cries. but my voice was stolen from me.. and i was numb.

i was gasping. lips parted in a silent cry for someone.. someone to save me like one did for me in the oceans below. the shadow was singing.. singing a song that i couldn’t hear.

i had never been more terrified.

“listen to me, elowen.”
i was frozen. each lyrical syllable of my name spoken upon the lips of a stranger.. my true name. it wasn’t luana.. or witch. it was nothing like that.

just the softness of my own name spoken by someone i didn't know.

“w-who are you?”

the shadows shifted once more, revealing a crown of a delicate head.. veiled with tawny waves. “it doesn’t matter who i am.. but what really matters is that your friend doesn’t have much time left.”

“he’s dead.”

“he isn’t dead, elowen.. you know that.” stepping out from the embrace of shadows, eyes blooming with stormy hues met mine. far from gentle, yet soothing. “we still have time. we can help him.”

“w-what? you must be joking, right?” my voice broke. “you burned a village to the ground, you blew up an entire ship. only the angels know what you’ll do next.”

“i have so much to explain to you, elowen.” stormy eyes bore into mine, the light in them fading for a moment before sparking back to life. “but trust me on this.. we can help your friend.”

i squeezed my eyes shut… with one nod sealing twin fates.