A  few days has passed since our fight. Everything on the outside seems normal. Kisses here and there, Drake still sleeps with me tucked against him, he even started eating breakfast with me in the morning. But the pleasantries and niceties just seemed forced. The smiles where off, and the kisses weren't filled with warmth. Although that could just be me. Nothing has felt the same since Nicklos's warning. I find myself overanalyzing his actions a lot. Everything he does, I find myself thinking negatively about. How he holds me at night, even though its close, I feel like it's a way of him asserting his dominance. Even though he did it even before our fight, I find myself thinking about it negatively. 'He isn't what he seems.'         Even now, as I sit across the table from him, eating our breakfast together, it seems domineering. He didn't do this before, so why does he start eating with me now? Of course he is still working th

          Water droplets fell from the sky in a light trickle. It splashed upon my face and traveled down my chin. A shivered from the cold touch, and from the memories that came with it. Rain, both a blessing and a curse. I pulled my cloak tighter around my body and continued to walk down the empty market street. Sebastion amd Maya walked on my right side while Drake walked on my left. Sebastion and I shared a disgruntled glance as each drop became heavier as we continued toward our destination.         A warm hand found its way under my cloak and wrapped around my fingers. The hand squeezed mine reassuringly and I looked up at Drake surprised. He didnt look down at me, just kept his cloaked head forward. Despite my past protests he still forced himself to attend our meeting. I was grateful for his presence, but I still worried about him. With the rain he said his work load had decreased, so for now I wouldn't push h

              "You're really going to let yourself get captured Aria?" It had been hours since we concluded our meeting and had migrated back to the bedroom. It was late now, most of the lights in the castle had gone out. Many people would rest easy tonight, not knowing that their only means of keeping safe was because I was sacrificing my freedom so they could live safely. Even with this sacrifice, it still wouldn't atone for all the wrong I wrought on this world. I don't think I would ever be able to redeem myself. My hands, which where busy packing my satchel of extra clothes, stilled as I closed my eyes. I could feel the hurt in his words. They felt heavy and hung in the air.               I wouldn't lie and say that a part of me wasn't a little nervous or maybe even upset that I was going through this. But I also knew that this was the only way we where going to get answers. Of course, I

"Aria, why did you bring us here?" Sebastion asked softly as he stood beside me. I carefully brushed my fingers across the worn out and heavily neglected headstone of my parents. The surface was rough and coarse from the years of erosion. But still their names where etched into the stone, plain as the day it was chipped onto the surface. I smiled quietly to myself, fully knowing why I was here. It was the last time I would see their grave site. I wanted to be here with Sebastion one last time, before he had to bury me here with them.               "Sebastion, do you remember what mom would always tell us when we were kids?" I asked quietly, a very blurred vision of my mother came to me. Her soft smiling lips, warm green eyes, black hair so soft and warm. The scent of warm baked apple pies burned heavily into my memories. The feeling of security and safety making me feel safe again after all these years. Slowly it faded, leaving