A/N: 'Ello my loves! I am so excited to share this story with you. Recently I have been fortunate enough to befriend the wonderful Des on tumblr, and she reached out to me to propose we do a collaboration! Naturally, neither of us had ever done a collaboration before, so this project is a bit of a mix of trial and error. This first chapter you are about to read was primarily written by the darling Des, whose tumblr links I will put on my profile page. Updates will be put up on this account, as well as our joint tumblr which will also be linked in my profile.

Now, without further ado, I present the first chapter of My Soul to Keep

My Soul to Keep

Chapter One

Lucas walks through the halls of the castle with his head held high, smiling benevolently at servants as they scurry passed him, weaving through clusters of people expertly. He knows the path that he is taking like the back of his hand, and even though his blood rushes with the usual adrenaline that he feels when making the trip, he no longer feels the overwhelming fear that he felt the first time he braved the corridor path, no longer sees visions of the worst that can come in consequence of reaching the end of the hall. In fact, Lucas might dare to say that the spike in his blood is more due to excitement than anything else.

It has been six long months since Lady Riley of the West Isles had been in Eastern Kingdoms. Six long months since Lucas has seen the love of his life.

"Your Highness," A young servant murmurs as she curtsies hurriedly before Lucas. She has a bouquet of flowers in her hands that is wider than her torso and taller than half her body, but she is holding up well, barely even trembling under the weight. Lucas considers offering his help, but can already tell from the admiration in her eyes that he will be rebuffed swiftly. Some people hear the word prince suddenly think that Lucas is something higher than human. This small girl seems like one of those people.

Instead Lucas smiles kindly at her, takes a step forward, and stops before the bouquet of daisies in her hand, fingering the velvet petals nearest to him in a mock of interest.

"Hello. Who are these for?" Lucas asks lightly, though he suspects he already knows, and the girl perks up at being addressed. The Prince's lips twitch at the eagerness in her eyes as she stutters around her answer, her plump cheeks flushed a bright red that clashes with her straw blonde braids. He's never seen her before, at least he doesn't think he has, and he wouldn't be surprised if this was her first day, judging from nothing but the eagerness in her green eyes.

"Th-they're for Lady Mathews, your Highness. It is said that her favorite flowers are daisies, your Highness. The-the queen ordered for them, your Highness!" She stutters, and Lucas' smile widens despite himself, his fingers soft with pollen and his green shirt begining to speckle the yellow dust that falls off the flowers as he fiddles with the petals.

"Is that so?" Lucas murmurs quietly, the corner of his mouth lifting upwards and a slight gleam in his jade eyes. It is the glimmer that comes with a secret, and while the girls mouth has just opened to answer Lucas takes the weaved basket of daisies from her hands, taking the entirety of it easily into his arms. "Well, I am on my way to see my betrothed right now actually. I will gladly take them to her."

"B-But your Highness-!" The girl stutters, eyes wide and Lucas just grins at her as he walks passed her down the hall.

"Don't worry yourself! I am fully capable of carrying gifts to my own fiance. Thank you for your service!" Lucas calls down the hall to the stunned girl, turning his back on her just to hide his increasingly wide grin. Every person on his way through the castle greets him with bows and curtsies and 'your highnesses,' and while usually this might exasperate him, today there is no challenging his mood.

Because today's the day he's been waiting for for half a year.

Today's the day he sees her.

When he gets to Riley's door he actually has to take a deep breath to calm himself, inhaling the sweet scent of daisies that remind him of her and using their familiar aroma to assure himself that she is finally home. His head dizzies with that and his excitement as he raps hard on the door. There is a few moments pause during which Lucas tries (and fails) to stop smiling, before the door swings open.

Wide brown eyes meet his own as Lucas is met with Lady Riley in all her glory. The brunette looks stunning in a lilac dress fit to her exactly, the folds of it thinner than it would be for a grander event, the corset soft. The color falls like waves against her lightly tanned skin, and even though it is her casual dress, Riley still shines like the most precious of stones. As she takes in Lucas' expression, it does not take her long to read it, and her eyes twinkle with amusement, as she smiles pleasantly. "Please contain your disenchantment Lucas, otherwise people might talk."

Lucas grimaces guiltily as he lowers the bouquet slightly to be able to look Riley in the eyes. "I'm sorry Riley, of course I'm happy to see you, it's just-"

"That you brought daisies, not roses." Riley finishes with a twist of her lips, and her mirth is almost palpable between them as she steps back to let him in, eyes following the oversized bouquet as he passes her. "You're not here for me, as per usual. When was the last time you came to my rooms to actually see me? You know, I actually cannot recall…"

"Riley, I am so sorry," Lucas says quickly, a ball of guilt in his gut weighing him down as he turns to Riley's vanity to place the flowers down, arranging them as he speaks. "You know I love you, and everything you have done for me, for us, and I really do not ever want you to feel like your efforts and your understanding is not appreciated. If I have been neglecting you I apologize sincerely, it was never my intention. You're my friend, and have been since we were children and I honestly don't ever want you to feel like you mean any less to me because of our situation. I still love you, Riley Matthews of the West Isles, and I always will, even when I get distracted by-"

Lucas turns back to look at Riley only to see her grin is wide enough to split her cheeks, eyes filled with mirth that makes Lucas' expression drop from one of sincerity to one of exasperation.

"Daisies?" Riley says slowly with her eyebrows raised, her mouth somehow forming the word into the epitome of mocking, and Lucas rolls his eyes.

"You're taunting me." Lucas deadpans, and Riley's laugh is bright as she steps over to him delicately, resting a light hand on his shoulder. The gesture is sisterly, just like her teasing. "A trip around the world and all you come back with is 've been spending too much time with Maya these passed few months. "

"And you have not been spending enough time with her." Riley replies evenly, brushing pollen off of the material of Lucas' shoulder, her eyes on the green of the fabric as she slowly smirks. "You usually would've been able to catch that a lot sooner, 'Lucas the Good'. You may be getting out of practice."

"Trust me when I say that that is not of my own will." Lucas murmurs, and Riley looks up to him curiously, tilting her head to the side. Lucas' lips twist into something regretful. "If it was up to me neither of you would ever leave the kingdom, at least not without me right by your side. I would never get out of practice because I would never get a chance to. I would have my oldest friends with me always, Zay too. I would be able to see you both everyday especially, and practice my banter infinitely as well."

Riley's gaze softens into something unreadable, and the brunette's smile is a combination of pleased and something sadder as she pats his shoulder kindly, taking a deep breath.

"Well, your wish will come true soon, will it not?" Riley murmurs gently, but there is a tone in her voice that the Prince does not recognize. "Our wedding is soon enough. You will go where I go, if I am to go anywhere, and I will go wherever you shall go always, of course. Once we are wed we will never be apart my 'love'. We shall never be apart…"

Riley's brow is furrowed slightly as her voice trails off, and her eyes are focused in Lucas' direction but gaze passed him. Lucas feels his heart sink at her torn expression, gripping onto the fingers at his shoulder in effort to comfort her. Riley blinks and turns her attention back to him, smiling at him gratefully as she squeezes back.

"Riley, what weighs on your heart? Our marriage will not be the end of us." Lucas says gently and Riley nods, laughing unhappily.

"No, Lucas, it shall be the beginning of us and the end of everything else. It shall be first page of the story of the King and Queen of The East Kingdoms, and the last page of the story of Lucas the Good and Riley the Worldly." Riley says, her melodic voice taking on such an unrecognizable sadness for a moment that Lucas doesn't know what to say. Their marriage is due the day Riley turns eighteen and her eighteenth name day is but a month away. They do not have long, and Lucas knows that, but he can't allow himself to think that way. He can't. He takes Riley' face between his hands and looks her directly in the eyes, makes sure she's listening.

"It will be fine, Riley. I promise you that. It will be fine." Lucas says firmly and Riley's smile is soft and almost pitying as she gently pats his hand on her cheek.

"Fine. Is that what I am to expect out of my life? Decency?" Riley murmurs, eyes searching Lucas' own.

"Riley…" Lucas tries softly. "You traveled the world. Saw the four kingdoms and all the clans in between. You fulfilled the dream that you've had since you were a girl! That's more than decency is it not? More than adequacy? Is it not ideal? I don't understand your sorrow, you have gotten all that you have ever wanted…"

Riley scoffs. "All of it? Am I only allowed one wish for my life? Am I only allowed one dream? That would be easier wouldn't it. It would make happiness more attainable."

Lucas knows that his turmoil must show on his face because Riley sighs softly and pats his cheek, stroking his cheekbone with her thumb.

"Oh, Lucas the Good…" Riley murmurs softly. "Forever the optimist…"

"You were once too. More so than even I." Lucas insists, almost willing to shake her, to return her to who she once was before, because the girl with the wistful brown eyes and sorrow-filled voice isn't her. "What happened to that girl? Where has she gone?"

"That girl saw the world…" Riley says wistfully, smile tinged with yearning. "And realized that she was never destined to have it."

Lucas opens his mouth to reply but doesn't know what to say, let's his hands fall gently from Riley's cheeks. Riley catches his hand with her own and looks at him firmly.

"Lucas, listen to me. Decency is not what life is meant for. Adequacy...it's not enough. The universe is not meant to hold halfhearted lives. Every soul is meant for more. We're all meant for more, we just have to...to find it. To find our 'something more' and hold onto it until we can't anymore. My 'something more' may just have been to travel the world and see it's beauty, write tales and poetry of it to inspire the descendents of the kingdoms. Do not mistake me, a fate such as that is grand and worthy of many lives but...that may be all I get to fulfill. But you Lucas Friar, First Son to King Godrick, fighter of many battles, Knight of the Good...you have a very different fate that denotes a very different weight. A very different worth. Perhaps no lesser or grander but just...different.

"You must hold onto the fate that your soul has assigned to you. You must never abandon it, no matter how hard it comes to bare, because the battles that are the most formidable are the ones that you should have the uttermost exigency to see through. Do you understand what I'm saying Lucas? Do you?" Riley whispers and Lucas' eyes are wide, his mouth gaping around words he can't quite find because he doesn't know what's come over Riley, what's happened. Her eyes are wet but her mouth is stern as she lets go of his hand and shakes him by the collar. "Tell me you understand."

"I...I understand." Lucas says gently, and Riley nods weakly, taking a deep shaky breath as she blinks back her tears.

"Lucas Friar, you are fortunate enough to have found the love of your days. Some of us just...don't get that." Riley says weakly, and Lucas jumps in.

"Riley you'll find somebody-"

"While I'm married to the King of The Eastern Kingdoms?" Riley asks sharply and Lucas is taken aback. "Or before that when I'm simply betrothed to the prince, staying within his home, interacting with only people loyal to him who would never think me worthy of betrayal to their highness? Will it be then Lucas? Now? Is this the time that I will find love?"

The question is quiet and rhetorical, but the look that Riley gives him, boring her eyes into his and waiting with pursed lips makes Lucas think that she's actually waiting for an answer. Maybe not from him, but the universe or the gods or this love she speaks of. And Lucas for his part can't answer. He never thought of what the marriage might mean for Riley, never considered what it might be like to go into a loveless marriage without ever having loved at all.

And he feels terrible for that.

"Lucas both you and I must accept the fact that my best chance is gone." Riley exhales tiredly, patting a gentle hand over Lucas heart to punctuate her sentence. "But it's okay, I've got you and Maya, and I will be fine. Decent."

Riley looks like she may either burst into tears or turn into an iron woman from pure strength and will alone, and Lucas is at a lost. He was not expecting this when he came in, knows that Maya would be best for this situation but before he can say anything Riley is speaking again, backing away from him.

"Maya went to fetch some wine and extra blankets for me, but I think she knows that they're really for the both of you. I will be in the stables grooming my horse and will return when the moon is at its highest." Riley says feebly as she picks up her dark purple cloak and wraps it around her shoulders. She clears her throat gently, and pauses with her hand on the doorknob, turns to look in Lucas' direction while avoiding direct eye contact. "Lucas, make no mistake. I want to be with you always because I adore you and your company. You're one of my favorite people in the world and you are the best man that I could ever hope to marry. You are kind and make me happy and I honestly don't go a day not wishing I could love you. My life would be so much easier if I could love you. And I do it's just… "

Riley glances at the bouquet of daisies and blinks at them with an unreadable expression for a moment before pursing her lips tightly. Her eyes shine as she opens the door and leaves silently, her cloak billowing behind her in a wave of purple. Lucas is left standing by her vanity in confusion, eyes wide in her wake and heart shaken to the core.

Lucas runs his conversation with Riley over in his mind around a thousand times before he finally sees Maya. When she finally enters, the silver hem of her humble, white dress swishes around her ankles along with the ends of the blanket draped over her arm. Her hands are full with a jug of wine that she cautiously holds steady as she shuts the door with her foot, and Lucas is standing behind her with a daisy in hand as she turns, his smile small but genuine on his lips. If Maya is surprised to see him she does not show it but her ocean eyes look pleased as her gaze flickers over him before setting the jug of wine on the vanity table beside the daisies and dropping the blanket over the vanity chair, curtsying gracefully.

"Your Highness," Maya murmurs cordially and Lucas' brow furrows even as he smiles, shaking his head in amusement. In that moment all troubling thoughts of his conversation with Riley escape him as he takes a moment to stare at the lady in front of him. At five feet she still gives off the air that she towers over him, the mocking of her smile and glint of her eyes making up for whatever she lacks in vertical stature. Her blonde hair has grown a few inches since he has last seen her, the weight of her curls causing the blonde locks to on either side of her face like waves at the pull of her curtsy. Lucas finds himself drowning in her gaze, the cool blue managing to send warmth throughout his body.

Gods has he missed her.

"Why do you always insist on doing that?" Lucas says with a roll of his eyes and Maya's grin turns teasing just before she feigns shock.

"Your majesty, whatever could you mean? You are meant to be king! The least I can do, as a humble servant of a foreign kingdom, is address you respectfully and-" Maya laughs as Lucas takes her by the waist, dragging her flush against him with a smirk.

"If I wanted respect would I have come to see you?" Lucas asks as he nuzzles her cheek while gently arranging the daisy behind her ear. Maya hums in pleasure as Lucas gently kisses her cheek and then travels down the column of her neck, turning her head into Lucas' touch.

"Are you trying to say I'm not respectful?" Maya asks coyly and Lucas' lips curl into a wider smile.

"Have you met yourself?" Lucas asks as he pulls back and Maya's laugh is more of a snort if anything, as her nose wrinkles in response. Lucas kisses her nose affectionately, his eyes warm. "I'm not saying you're disrespectful, I'm just saying that you are the only person to ever call me an ass to my face. I wouldn't come to you if I wanted my ego stroked."

Maya sucks her bottom lips between her teeth as she wraps her arms around Lucas' neck, her head tilted in consideration even as Lucas inches his face closer to hers, breathing in the warm breath that she breathes out as his eyes flick over her face in a combination of awe and amusement.

"You know, I can't fault you for your reasoning." Maya says and Lucas' lips twitch.

"That's because I'm right." Lucas murmurs as he nose bumps with hers and Maya's eyes crinkle with her grin.

"Well, you know what they say about dogs and their days." Maya says smoothly, and Lucas snorts.

"And you thought you were respectful." Lucas says and his smile widens without his consent, because he's trying to kiss her, he's been dying to kiss her since the moment she left the kingdom six months ago, but he misses their banter just as much, if not more, than the feel of her lips against his. He would take anything he could get from this woman, would take anything that Maya would let him have.

"I never said that," Maya breathes against his lips a single brow raised mordantly, and Lucas is suddenly a bit distracted from his reply to her statement, swallowing hard. "I only implied it."

"Maya." Lucas says breathlessly, and Maya shifts her weight, her waist adjusting in his hands as he feels her play with her own fingers behind his head.

"Yes?" Maya says demurely, and Lucas feels his smile flicker back to life.

"I'm going to kiss you now." Lucas says smoothly, and Maya rolls her eyes to the heavens in a exaggeration of relief, lips curving into a smile through the act.

"Oh, thank the gods." Maya says and without further ado her lips are on his as she kisses him soundly. Their first kiss in six months is soft and slow, quiet and a show of much more patience than either of them usually displays. It tastes of red wine and the warmth of Maya and Lucas cannot think of a time in the past months that he was as content as this, that he felt as whole as this. Lucas' lips are still curved into a smile as he kisses Maya because he can't seem to stop, doesn't know how to not be happy about the current situation. But the thought of his own happiness reminds him abruptly of his friend's unhappiness, and Maya, being Maya, notices the shift of thought the moment it happens, pulls away softly only to look at him in exasperation. "What?"

"It's Riley." Lucas says without preamble, because beating around the bush will only frustrate Maya, and he knows that she'll know what to do with Riley's sadness more than he will. "She's upset because she believes that she'll never have what we have."

Maya raises a brow. "And what do we have?"

Lucas' brow furrows. "Love, Maya. True love."

"Well, Riley might be right." Maya says with a shrug and Lucas' eyes bulge before they narrow.

"You don't think Riley will find love?"

"I never said that. I believe that Riley will find a great love when it is her time. It's just...true love. Will she find that? Have we found that?" Maya asks honestly, and Lucas' brow, which has been gradually furrowing throughout her comments, is now pinched tightly on his forehead.

"Maya, what are you saying? You're the love of my life. Am I not yours?" Lucas asks quietly, unsure if he wants the answer because this is never something he thought he would have to ask. He's been in love with Maya Penelope Hart likely since the moment he set eyes on her, during which she came right up to him in her mud stained peasant dress and demanded that he be kind to her lady. No one had ever spoken to Lucas that way until that point, and when Maya sashayed away, the ends of her white dress caked with dirt, Lucas was left reeling in her wake, eyes wide and heart pounding because even though his mind could not comprehend what had just happened, his body knew. He had found her. The One.

His Soulmate.

"Lucas don't be stupid." Maya says with a roll of her eyes and Lucas is abruptly taken out of his musings. But he can't find it in him to smile at the comment, knows his lips are still downturned because he doesn't understand how Maya could not see what they have for what it is. Does she not feel it too? Maya sighs, placing both of her calloused palms on his neck, her thumbs gently rubbing against the hinge of his jaw. "Lucas Friar, I love you. I have since I was a girl. Do not doubt that because it is fact. Just as the sky is blue and the grass is green...Maya Hart loves Lucas Friar. And always will."

Lucas looks at Maya for a long time, not so much to gauge her honesty but instead to read her thoughts. When he can't immediately comprehend Maya's line of thinking he sighs, kisses the corner of her mouth before pulling away, frown still in place. "Then what is the problem my love? In what way would Riley be correct in her statement? If you believe that she will find love and you believe in our love then what exactly do you not accept?"

"True love." Maya susurattes in thought, her eyes looking directly into Lucas as she simultaneously seems to be seeing something else beyond the irises. Maya grimaces slightly before she is suddenly present once more, head tilting in contemplation. "Is there such a thing?"

Lucas pulls back from her slightly, hands still around her waist and body still pressed against hers, but face far enough away that he can see her whole expression.

"Maya. I love you. You love me. We're in love and that is the truth, what more could the statement denote?" Lucas asks simply and Maya looks bitterly amused.

"We are in love Lucas. And we also have to sneak around every inch this castle to be together, with the help of your fiance, of course. We can't even look at each other with any kind of fond emotion in public. Gods, we can't be together in public without that that lovely possibility of me being hung if we're ever caught together hanging over both of our heads. Or maybe, your father will have mercy on me because I am your betrothed's lady in waiting, and instead banish me, which is brilliant isn't it? To be destined to live the rest of my days without you. Mercy-"

"Maya." Lucas says firmly, his face setting like stone at the moment she mentions the idea of being hanged, and Maya takes a step back from him, hands untangling from his neck.

"Lucas, I've been in love with you since I knew what love was. I knew you loved me not long after that. We came together too long after that." Maya says unhappily, eyes regretful. Lucas cannot remember seeing her like this. He is used to arguing and conversation, but never have her words been so hollow or voice so defeated, and it scares him. "We've been hiding our love since we discovered it, everyone thinks that you and Riley are the epitome of ardor and devotion. For gods' sake, you told your mother that Riley's favorite flowers were daisies just so you would have an excuse to sneak in here and bring them to the servant girl. Lucas, don't you see? Is it really true love if no one knows about it? Is it true if we have never once been honest about it to anyone but each other and the woman you're to marry, is any of this true?

Because the moment we step out of this room you're going to go back to pretending like you can't even see me passed the beauty of Riley Matthews, Princess of the Western Isles, and I? I'm going to go back to making it seem like the only thing I feel for you is admiration for my lady's betrothed! What exactly about any of that is true Lucas? I love you more than I have ever loved anything and now that I have you I never want to be without you but...if I had a choice? If I had to do it again, do all the pain and fear and heartache again… I don't know what I'd choose Lucas. Do you?"

"Yes." Lucas says without hesitation, eyes wide with a combination of confusion and intensity, because that is not a question he has to think about and he doesn't know why that is not the same for Maya. "Yes, Maya I would chose you a thousand times! In this world and the next, in a repeat of this life or another, I would go through pain and fear and heartache just to love you-"

"Lucas the Good…" Maya interrupts bitterly and Lucas searches the sadness of her face in bewilderment. "Forever the optimist…"

"Why is everyone repeating that today?" Lucas snaps and Maya raises a tarte brow despite the obvious woe on her visage.

"Is it not the truth?"

"What do you mean you don't know, Maya?" Lucas whispers, feeling his hurt bloom within his chest like the daisies sitting on that vanity, and Maya opens and closes her mouth, eyes wet and torn.

"I mean that if we were to be caught together… I would be killed and you…" Maya swallows with difficulty, the tears in her eyes shining as she shrugs. "You would be king. Doing it again Lucas… it would not be of any risk to you, to love someone below you. But to love someone above you, well. That is quite a different beast…"

"You do not think that this is hard for me? To be in love with a woman I could never be with, to have to watch you from across tables and halls and expanses and only wish I could be by your side? To allow you to leave me for months without a single letter of contact just because of what it could imply, because of what it could look like?" Lucas asks defensively, and Maya laughs but the sound is bitter.

"Lucas every time I kiss you I have to be okay with signing away my own life! I have to wonder to myself, ask myself, if you are worth that. If this is worth that." Maya looks at him intensely for a moment, bringing her hand up to stroke her fingertips along his jawline. "You are and it is. But what we have to face each day to love each other? It is not comparable."

Lucas is momentarily speechless and Maya takes that time to step away from him, eyes towards the ground for a moment as she collects the skirts of her dress before she turns to leave the room. But before she can even take a second step towards the passage, Lucas' hand is gently circling her arm, keeping her in place as he blurts out something he's wanted to say for years.

"Run away with me."

Maya is silent and still, not moving even an inch for a few quiet moments. When she finally turns around her eyes are still wet with tears but her brow is furrowed in complete honest confusion.

"What?" She asks weakly and Lucas closes the space between them in a single step, feels his heart thud within his chest like a drum as it soars.

"Maya Penelope Hart... run away with me." Lucas whispers and Maya blinks in bafflement, her now cooled tears falling onto her cheeks. Lucas wipes them away with his thumbs, stroking her cheeks as she thinks.

"Lucas we...we can't-" Maya starts and Lucas shakes his head.

"Why not? I love you and you love me. If I were to live the entirety of my existence with no one but you I would consider the fate a miracle, Maya. You're the love of my life-" Lucas explains quickly and Maya lays a solid hand on his chest.

"And you're to be king." She says firmly, and Lucas shrugs.

"I don't want that. I never wanted any of that. I want you." Lucas says with complete truthfulness. Maya gives Lucas a look of pure perplexment as she sputters out a slightly hysterical laugh, taking a very careful step back from Lucas.

Maya gestures to the all of Lucas with wave of a slightly hysteric finger, mouth working without words for a moment before she speaks."If you are not to be king then who-?"

"Stephen." Lucas interrupts quickly, recalling his cousin without effort. "He is next in line, and he is kind and responsible-"

"He has just passed his fifteenth nameday Lucas-!"

"Which is more than old enough to be king! And as well as that he is mature and won't be crowned for another four years at least! He's more fit to be king than I ever was, the people love him, and he has an incredible knack for battle strategy and problem solving-!" Lucas explains and Maya waves a quieting hand at him as she interrupts.

"What about Riley?" Maya asks weakly, and her voice cracks on the name of her closest friend, her sister. Lucas closes the space between them again, laying comforting hands on Maya upper arms.

"Riley doesn't love me. She never will, just as I will never love her. Maybe this could be what we both need. Riley could be betrothed to another, a man worthy of her, a man who she herself loves and I… I could have you." Lucas breathes in awe, raising a hand to gently finger the strands at the end of Maya's long hair. Maya looks crossed between utter disbelief and wonderment at his words, her skepticism still slipping through her the edges of her expression. Lucas caresses her cheeks, makes her face him. "This...might be the only chance for both of us. For both me and Riley to be truly happy."

"Will we ever see her again?" Maya asks hushedly and Lucas nods with surety he feels, tucking Maya against him as he speaks.

"We will."

"How do you know-" Maya asks, her brow puckered as she tips her head back to look up at him, and Lucas takes a deep breath, tries to think of a way to explain the feeling within him to Maya, to explain the complete confidence he feels within him that they will see Riley again, that they will see Zay again, that they will all be reunited once again.

Instead of getting into that Lucas simply says, "Do you trust me?"

And Maya answers as she always has to the obvious, just says without hesitancy,"Don't ask stupid questions."

Lucas smiles as he kisses her temple and nods firmly into her hair."Then know we will see her again. I will make sure of it."

Maya just breathes against him for a moment, mind running so fast that Lucas can almost feel her thoughts enveloping him, spinning around the air around his head. She pulls away gently, eyes set on his chest for a long moment before she looks up into his eyes.

"It would be incredibly selfish." She says bluntly.

Lucas shrugs, his smile earnest."What's wrong with being selfish?"

"Lucas." Maya says impatiently, her slight irritation at his answer showing in the pinch of her mouth. Lucas shakes his head, his smile growing because they could do this. He could do this. He could be with Maya. He could be free. He could have love.

"No, I'm serious. Maya, I have lived my entire life catering to the will of others. I have dedicated my being to serve and love masses of people who I don't know, people who only know me from paintings and declarations given from across crowds. I have been selfless for very, very long. What is one act of selfishness in comparison? " Lucas asks rhetorically as he takes a cautious step forward, once more closing the distance for hopefully the last time. Maya lets him even as she looks slightly distressed with worry, her eyes flicking over his face quickly as he leans into her. But all Lucas does is rest their foreheads together, and the moment that their skin has made contact Maya's eyes flutter closed as she exhales shakily. Lucas gives her a moment to breathe, to take in the situation, knows that spontaneity is in Maya's nature but selfishness? Never has been. May never be.

It is one of the many things that Lucas loves about her.

"Maya." Lucas says softly, and Maya's eyes flutter open and look directly into his own, her blue eyes bright and open. Lucas licks his lips nervously, feels the hoard of butterflies in his stomach take rapid and unexpected flight as he prepares for what he is about to say. "I want to be with you. Totally. Completely. Without secrets or dishonesty or doubts. Do you want that?"

Maya's face twists suddenly, her eyes filling with tears that she lets fall, as she nods."More than anything but-"

"Marry me." Lucas bursts out suddenly. Maya eyes widen as Lucas brings his hands up to her neck to cradle her head as he speaks. " Please. I...please."

Maya is still for no more for a moment but that is more than long enough for Lucas heart to go through an array of emotions, for his mind to jump to a million terrible conclusions, for his blood to run cold.

That is until she starts nodding.

"Yes?" Lucas asks in disbelief, his lips slowly beginning to turn up. "Yes?"

"Yes, I… gods, Lucas." Maya says breathlessly, and before Lucas grin can widen any more than it already has Maya has pushed herself onto her tip toes to kiss him silent, her mouth moving against his passionately even as her tears continue to fall. She pulls back from his lips with a wet sound, leaning her forehead against his as she sniffles wetly and sucks her bottom lip between her teeth. "I never thought I'd hear you say that."

"I never thought that I would get to say that." Lucas admits, and Maya's smile is around the meat of her bottom lip, her eyes bright with joy and Lucas is relieved to see the hollowness within them disappear. He looks her over in reverence, looks until Maya sputters out a slightly delirious laugh of happiness, looks between the warm kisses that he places on her pink mouth.

"God I love you so much…" Lucas murmurs between one kiss and the next and Maya hums in reply, allowing Lucas to lift her off the ground by an arm around her waist without complaint. Lucas suddenly recalls the situation at hand, puts Maya back on the ground, pulls away from her lips reluctantly. "Are we doing this? Are we running away together?"

"You're really willing to throw all this away for me?" Maya asks and Lucas doesn't even pause.

"Maya, nothing is worth more to me than you." Lucas says sincerely, and Maya eyes fill with new tears as she looks genuinely astonished for a moment. Her smile starts small but begins to stretch across her cheeks wider by the moment.

"We're running away together." She whispers, wonderstruck, and Lucas' grin could probably brighten a path through the darkest of the nights.

"We're running away together." Lucas repeats, kissing Maya quickly, feeling his own tears hot in his eyes. "When?"

"Tonight." Maya says confidently, nodding. Lucas' eyes widen.

"Tonight?"

"Well, it has to be right?" Maya says calmly, looking at Lucas patiently as she explains. "With all the excitement for Riley's arrival today we should be able to slip out, after all most of the staff will be focused on tomorrow's ball and most of the guards will be on high alert to make sure nobody gets in -"

"Maya, my love, you don't have to convince me." Lucas says with a laugh, and Maya looks slightly surprised. "I was just startled is all. The sooner I get to be together with you… the better."

Maya looks at Lucas fondly as she grins, bouncing up onto her tip toes to kiss the corner of his mouth." The North. We should go to The North. It's the safest, and if we go far enough we could find Eric's clan. He is… insane, but kind. He will protect us and keep us without question! We can be married there or-"

"Along the way? There is a church just a bit north of here in the Northeast Kingdom-" Lucas says quickly and Maya's brow furrows.

"North East? As in the Kingdom of King Minkus? Is he not Queen Topanga's previously betrothed? Do you really think it is a good idea for us to-"

"I trust his son." Lucas says confidently, clearly remembering Prince Farkle's bright honest smile as he introduced himself to Lucas, recalling the kindness with which he treated his servants. "The Northeast is friends of the Eastern Kingdoms and Farkle is...perhaps a bit power hungry, but warmhearted. He would not allow harm to come to us. He is actually in the kingdom right now, perhaps we could sneak out with his party passed the kingdom lines …"

"I have to say goodbye to Riley!" Maya says suddenly, eyes wide as she pulls back from Lucas. "I know you said that we'll see her again but we don't know when that will be-"

"Of course, yes, go to her! Give her my love, and I… I shall find Prince Farkle and try to convince him to help us." Lucas says quickly and Maya nods, jumping in to kiss him quickly.

"I love you." She whispers and Lucas can't help but grin, feels his heart soar with just those words.

"Always." Lucas breathes in a vow, grabbing Maya's hand and holding it as she slowly pulls away to leave the room. Maya gives him a small but blissful smile before she exits in a swish of her dress, white just like the day they met, white just like it shall be on their wedding day.

And if Lucas thought that his smile was impossible to stifle before, he cannot even conceive weakening it now.

He's marrying Maya.

He's going to be with Maya.

Lucas doesn't know how long he's been still when the door opens again, all he knows is that he startles quite spectacularly much to Zay's amusement. His friend grins brightly and bows mockingly as he balances a bouquet of daisies in one hand impressively.

"Your Highness. Good to see that the ruler of our kingdom is on high alert as usual, cause you know sometimes I worry." Zay says sarcastically as Lucas rights himself, and the prince rolls his eyes goodnaturedly, shaking his head in amusement. Zay grins before he glances at the vanity, sees the bouquet of daisies already there. He glances between the bouquet in his hand and the one on the vanity twice, brow furrowing quickly. "What in the world…"

"What?" Lucas asks happily, because from now until the end of his days he will do everything happily because he is marrying Maya. Zay is too distracted to notice his bliss though, walks up to the vanity and puts down the bouquet in his hands to examine the other one curiously, ruffling his hand through the flowers in search of something.

"Your mother sent me to come deliver these flowers for Riley… but why would she ask me to deliver them if she already had an identical set delivered?" Zay says in confusion and Lucas tilts his head at the oddness of that as well.

But after a moment he shrugs noncommittally. After all flowers aren't important when he has news like he does, in the grand scheme of life how important could and extra bouquet of flowers be? "You know my mother, always over courteous."

"Yeah, and detailed as the hells too." Zay mutters as he pulls back from the first bouquet with a frown. "She has literally included a card with the kingdom seal and a parable on it for Riley to read with every single bouquet that I have ever delivered for her. This one?" Zay says as he points at the first bouquet. "No card. This one?" Zay points at the one he delivered. "Card."

Lucas shakes his head disbelief, snorting. "I never knew you paid so much attention to my mother."

Zay gives Lucas a deadpan look that speaks for itself, and Lucas' laugh is bright and teasing as he moves towards his friend, places both hands firmly on Zay's shoulders. Zay blinks up at Lucas distractedly, still looking between the bouquets in bewilderment until Lucas claps a warm hand on his friend's neck.

"Zay." Lucas says intensely, and Zay finally gives him his full attention. Lucas grins. "I'm getting married."

Zay does nothing for a moment before he slowly begins to narrow his eyes in worry.

"Did you seriously just realize that?" Zay asks half mockingly, but the pucker of his brow as he looks over Lucas' face betrays his concern. "Lucas your wedding's in a month. You've been engaged all your life - are you okay? Should I take you to the physician-?"

"Not to Riley." Lucas clarifies quickly, and Zay's concern turns rapidly into almost comical disbelief as he raises an eyebrow high. "To Maya."

And Lucas can't help that his grin begins to edge the corners of his lips until he is smiling like an idiot, even as his best friend seems to go into shock.

"I'm sorry, what?" Zay asks, and Lucas' lips stretch wider.

"I'm marrying Maya."

"Does she know that?" Zay asks in bewilderment and Lucas shoves him in the shoulder.

"Of course she knows you fool." Lucas says but not a moment after the words leave his mouth Zay is narrowing his eyes to almost slits.

"Does Riley know that?" He asks lowly and Lucas opens his mouth to speak before closing it again. He grimaces.

"That...is a work in progress." Lucas mutters and he only grunts in slight pain when his friend smacks him in the arm.

"Lucas." Zay hisses and Lucas flails slightly.

"Maya's telling her Zay! And besides it's not like Riley will be brokenhearted, she doesn't love me that way." Lucas says quickly, but Zay's glare doesn't let up. Lucas' lips twitch slightly. "You, on the other hand…"

"You shut your stupid princely mouth right now." Zay says instantly and Lucas' smile widens.

"Tell her you love her Zay." Lucas advises for the umptenth time and Zay shakes his head in disbelief.

"You see that, is what we commoners refer to as 'a terrible idea'. You might not encounter a lot of those yourself because of your princely princeness and also, just generally, your face, but we peasants try to avoid those, just as a rule of thumb. You know, just so we can keep our heads where we want them to be, maybe steer clear of the chance of us getting rotten fruit thrown at our faces-"

"Zay. Today Riley told me that she had no hope of finding true love for herself." Lucas says carefully, looking his friend directly in the eyes. "You could be the true love that she's been waiting for!"

"Oh Lucas the good…" Zay says with a slightly bitter smile. " Forever the optimist. Or maybe it's naive? Or, you know, both! You really think princess Riley would be interested in a servant boy? Not just a servant but...one of my status?"

And Zay doesn't say more, just indicates to all of him generally, the skin that covers his muscles the scars that cover his body. Lucas feels his blood cool instantly at the reference, because Zay-

Zay is no less a person than any of them.

"Riley doesn't care about that. Neither do I, and neither should you. You are worth no less than her, or me, or anyone." Lucas says with utmost confidence and Zay smiles.

"You think I don't know that? I'm awesome." Zay says halfheartedly, his smile weak at best. "But if you think it's hard for you and Maya to be together… imagine a princess and a man of the south? It would never happen. It's unheard of to even have interrelations between Southerners and Northerners, but a princess? Chief Billy would have a better chance, and even then- "

"Riley doesn't care about that." Lucas says, leaving no room for argument. "But you do. And you shouldn't Zay. Who you are it's...nothing to be ashamed of."

Zay huffs a laugh, and rolls his eyes but Lucas shakes his head, claps both hands on his friend's shoulders, looks him directly in the eyes. "Zay Babineaux I made you my squire because you were worthy the position. You're the funniest person I know, next to maybe Maya, you're kind and considerate and thoughtful and intelligent and more than just the colour of your skin, more than just a man of the south, and Riley Matthews, the woman you have loved from afar since you laid eyes on her, could love you. I need you to know that. I need you to understand to that."

Zay looks at Lucas in confusion, brows furrowed as he looks over his friend's expression. "What's wrong with you?"

"Tell me you understand Zay." Lucas says instead of answering and Zay opens his mouth, eyes flickering with mischief but Lucas shakes his head firmly. "Zay."

Zay pauses for a long moment, looking at Lucas with an unreadable expression before he nods. "I understand."

"Good." Lucas says with a nod, pulling away from Zay. "If you remember nothing else I've told you, remember that okay?"

"What in the gods names are you even-"

"I'm leaving Zay." Lucas says quietly, and Zay just stares at Lucas for a silent moment before scoffing.

"Well yeah, it's not like you can marry Maya here. Your father would have her imprisoned or killed or worse. We have to be long gone by the time he even notices that you're both not in the kingdom! Now, I could probably hide you guys down south, even though you'll both stick out like sore thumbs with your pretty pale asses-"

"No, Zay, I need you to stay here for me." Lucas says lowly and Zay's eyes bulge.

"I'm sorry, what?" Zay asks quickly, and Lucas rushes to explain.

"I need someone to tell me what my father is doing, if he's coming after us or if he's not, and you are one of the few people I trust. I know it's a lot to ask-" Lucas says through a grimace and Zay's eyes are still wide.

"Lucas, I'll be the first person he'll ask for your location!" Zay near shouts and Lucas shushes him.

"I know! Which is why I need you to go below ground." Lucas says conspiratorially and Zay huffs a disbelieving laugh.

"You're insane."

"You're my best friend."

"That's not my fault!"

"Zay, I have utmost confidence that you probably won't get caught-!"

"Probably!"

"I know you have connections in the castle, just stay in the outskirt villages maybe and-" Lucas explains quickly but Zay rolls his eyes.

"Oh, well don't insult me by telling me how to do what I do best! I'll do it, you jerk, but just know that whenever you and Hart have little crown renounced babies, there better be an Isaiah in there-"

"Really?" Lucas asks in surprise. "I thought it would require more convincing than that."

Zay points at Lucas bluntly."Your first born child. Isaiah Friar Hart. Non negotiable."

Lucas grins is back in full force as he hugs Zay tightly, squeezing him despite his protest. "Thank you my friend."

"Even if it's a girl, Lucas. Isaiah Friar Hart."

Lucas knows nothing about preparing to run away with somebody, and even less about preparing to for a wedding, so he just grabs everything he can carry in two large satchels and enough food to last a few days. He manages to do it all without being seen with the help of Zay, who seems to know the secret passages of the castle better than Lucas himself. Zay also manages to grab Lucas a ring for Maya, the origins of which Zay simply tells Lucas not to worry about. The ring is simple and gold, with a small flower made out of jade instead of diamond, and Lucas didn't think anything could be more perfect for Maya. But before he could communicate his thanks to Zay, his friend had run off to assist Lucas' mother with something, quickly rambling something about reducing suspicion by acting normal.

Which leaves Lucas alone in a secret passage behind a staircase with little idea of how to get back to Riley's rooms.

Lucas looks at the forking passages in front of him, purses his lips as he tries to decide between left and right before sighing deeply and taking the left. He walks along it quickly, not wanting to be late for Maya's arrival. He still has yet to speak to Prince Farkle, but perhaps he and Maya can do it together. For some reason Lucas believes that the two of them will get along splendidly.

Lucas follows down the passage until the exit, stepping carefully as he lugs the satchels behind him. He looks out of the passage curiously, glancing around the room he came out into only to see that it is the stables. He sighs in relief, because he knows the way to Riley's rooms from here, can make it completely unseen if he plays this right-

"Hello, milady."

Lucas pauses, and cocks his head slightly because-

"Oh! Hello...um, you are?"

Is that-?

"Prince Farkle of the Northeast. And from the tales I have heard of your beauty I can only assume that you are Lady Riley of the Western Isles."

Oh no.

Lucas peaks around the passage to see Riley and Farkle, Riley with a horse brush in hand and a bright smile on her face, and Farkle with a slightly awed smile on his own. Riley laughs in amusement.

"While I am indeed who you speak of, I cannot help but be curious as to who is telling these tales of my beauty…" Riley teases with a grin and Farkle shrugs.

"Well, you see it is not physical beauty that they speak of." Farkle says and Riley raises a brow.

"Oh?"

"No, of course not. The tales are of the beauty of your words Lady Riley. And I must admit...the one spreading said tales may be myself…" Farkle says smoothly and Riley laughs even as Farkle takes her hand and bends to place a chaste on the back of it. "But in my defense, I have not said anything that was untrue."

"Oh, of course not!" Riley says jestingly, her smile lighting up her face and Lucas eyes are wide in his inner turmoil as he slowly backs away from the scene and back into the passage.

He'll find another way back.

When Lucas finally makes his way back to the room he is still lugging the bags behind him, and only sees a flash of Maya blonde hair before he speaks.

"Maya, you will not believe what I just saw, Prince Farkle and Riley! He was flirting with her and she was reciprocating and I don't know how to feel because you know about how Zay feels for her-"

"No, I don't actually, please enlighten me your highness."

Lucas freezes on the spot at the unfamiliar voice, his hand pausing on the doorknob. He closes his eyes slowly in dread at being caught, takes a deep breath before turning to face-

The servant with the bouquet.

Lucas blinks in confusion at the small girl, looks over her confident stance in bewilderment. The girl only smiles kindly, making Lucas' brow furrow more tightly.

"You." He says for lack of anything else to say, and the girl's smile widens, her grin edging on childish.

"Me." She says happily. She nods at the bags in Lucas hands pointedly, her lips curling into something mischievous. "Going somewhere my ledge?"

"I….am going on a trip with my betrothed." Lucas says in reply and the girl laughs brightly.

"The truth for once! What a change of pace, your highness!" She says mockingly and Lucas raises a brow.

"Excuse me?" Lucas asks lowly, and the girl's grin is toothy, almost shark like it it's predatoriness.

"Oh, I mean no offense your majesty. It was a compliment! It seems that a life of honesty has taken to you well. It suits you. It is a shame that it is much too late for that. You have already signed your fate." The girl says with a nonchalant wave of her hand.

"My fate? What… who are you?" Lucas asks in confusion and the girl smirks. A sudden gust of wind flies through the room, shutting the door behind Lucas with a slam and blowing both satchels out of his hands. Lucas is blown back into the door, banging his skull on the unyielding wood with a hiss of pain. Lucas' looks at the witch with wide eyes, tries to move off the surface of the door only to find that he can't.

"Lucas Friar do you think your happiness is worth more than the happiness of many?" The girl asks curiously, her voice sickeningly sweet, and Lucas grits his teeth as he tries to pull his arm off the surface of the door.

"No, I...I never said that-"

"But you do believe that your love is worth more?" She asks and Lucas feels anger flare up within him.

"No! Worth more than whose - what right do you have to ask me this, to do this to me-"

"Do you know that the union of the West and East could bring about a thousand loves?" She asks, her eyes far off. "One. Thousand. Loves that could be successful or end, loves that could go unrequited or reciprocated, loves that could last years or seconds. One thousand loves through many years and decades... and that is only in this world! Imagine the next! The ripples of your simple union do not just affect you Lucas Friar. Do you think that you can afford to be selfish? Do you think that the love of you and… the servant girl is worth more than all that? Do you think your love amounts to that?"

"Don't call her that." Lucas says immediately, and the girl laughs brightly, looking thoroughly amused by the situation as Lucas feels his fists curl. "And I don't think Maya and I are worth more than anyone. We are equal to them and we deserve love just as much as they do."

The witch raises a brow, and huffs a girlish laugh, tilting her head in abject amusement. But there is an ice surrounding her green eyes that threatens to freeze the whole kingdom. "That is an adorable philosophy, your highness. However, it is inaccurate. You, a single man, and your love, a single woman, do not have enough love to outweigh the many that would come from the union of the West and East. That is fact. Now tell me...do you still want to be with her?"

And despite the threat that seeps between the high-pitched words, Lucas does not have to think about it, would never have to think about it.

"Always."

The girls smile is almost vicious, looking unfitting on her young features like the portrait of a girl painted with another's face

"Then your wish shall be considered."

Not a moment after the last syllable has left her lips does the wind start up again, blowing through the room like a whirlwind as the girl slowly steps closer to Lucas. Even though the wind billows with enough strength to lift books of Riley's poetry off the vanity and pluck petals off both bouquets of daisies, it is silent, making it possible for Lucas to hear the girl with perfect clarity as chaos reigns around them.

"You, Lucas Friar, first son of Godrick, first in line for the throne and first to abandon it, shall live a thousand loveless lives to bring balance to the thousand loves you have made unattainable. Your love for the wench shall be your undoing, and your lives alone shall be a pitiful thing. You shall be punished for how very selfish you have been." The woman mocks as she gently pats his cheek and Lucas feels warmth spread through his body from the point of contact, grimaces as he feels the heat seep from his skin into his bones. The girl grins.

" But. As I am an apprentice of Liselle, I shall make this a two way spell. If your soon to be bride can come to your side within the time that gives a second for each life you have broken...then as my token to you, the man who will never rule an empire I will give you your last desire. You will be with your love always, for all of your days, for a thousand existences in which you will cross distances to be together. Forever. However, once you are together your time is short. An act of love between the two of you will deport you from one life to the next in exactly the time that the love you have stolen would have lasted. It could be seconds, minutes, years, but I promise Friar it will be no time less and no time added. You will know when your time is near it's end because your very being will bend around you. But dear Prince don't worry too much, for now all you need is a single touch, to make this spell come true."

The girl places her other hand on his opposite cheek and Lucas suddenly feels like his body is burning hot, his very blood searing through him. He clenches his teeth against the pain and tries to block of the clear sound of the witch's laughter.

"So what will it be your highness? A thousand years alone or a thousand years finding and losing your love? Which is worse? To love and lose or to never love at all?" She asks with a near gleeful lilt to her voice and Lucas can do nothing but gasp in pain in response, his eyes watering in agony as he watches the petals of daisies pass between them. At this the girls perk up. "Oh, I almost forgot! Anyone who has been in contact with the pollen of adultery that fills the bouquet you took from me will be connected to you. Riley Matthews of the West will live a loveless life if you do. Zay Babineux of the South will live a thousand lives right along with you if your Heart comes in time. I know how much you love your friends your highness. I thought it only fair that their fate be tied to yours. Of course they will be as oblivious as they are now, they have to be. Can you imagine? Five Aware in the Cycle of Existence…"

Lucas pulls at the magic binding him with all his strength, manages to get his hand loose enough to swing at the witch, but his hand merely goes through thin air as the girl transports herself to the other side of the room.

"Testy, testy. Violence will not help you now my ledge. Hurting me will do nothing, the spell is already cast."

"Undo it." Lucas grits out, his body slumping as he lets his arm fall from the door. The girl hums in thought.

"Not possible."

"Unravel my friends from my fate." Lucas demands breathlessly as his other arm falls, his body slowly disconnecting from the door.

"Also impossible."

The pain pulses through Lucas like a heartbeat, and he falls to his knees, gasping.

"Make it stop…" Lucas begs and the girl smiles sweetly.

"I don't want to." She says, her voice pitched kindly and Lucas curls in on himself, feeling the wind brush past his skin as he curls into fetal position. "Remember this pain Lucas Friar. It is nothing less than you deserve."

For loving somebody? Lucas thinks and the girl is suddenly beside him, smiling above him benevolently.

"For taking more than you deserve. Do you see how fate works Lucas? Balance. It is needed. I am needed. Otherwise chaos ensues. You earthly beings would run amuck, people would get more than they deserve others would get less. You all need me so much more than you know."

Who are you? Lucas thinks or he might have said it he's not sure, but either way the girl brushes the sweaty hair from his brow with a touch that could be mistaken for kind, smiles brightly.

"I do not have a name Lucas, I am not one of you. But if it suits you, you can call me Sophia. Does that make you feel better?" the girl asks, giving a slightly mocking pout as if talking like to a small child.

It doesn't. The girl laughs but Lucas isn't sure if it's because knowing her name does not make him feel better in the slightest or if it's because of the choice names his mind is slowly assigning for her.

"Isn't it funny, that depending on how this spell goes...I could either be the last face you see or one of the few consistent faces you will see for the next thousand existences..."

Lucas can't even find it in him to think a sarcastic remark as pain pulses through him once more, making his spine straighten and his eyes water as he gasps.

"Goodby Lucas Friar."

The pain blurs time, blends the world into colours and confusions. Lucas could swear that Riley's bed was on the ceiling above him, can accurately recall the daisies twisting through the air like fish. Time turns into a thing unknown so much so that Lucas can't tell whether or not Maya has met the time limit or not or if it may be possible that she is free of this fate.

He's not sure which option he prefers.

Within that time Lucas knows nothing but pain, absolutely nothing but agony until something cuts through, something makes its way to him.

And it's not a voice that cuts through silence, not a light that cuts through darkness. No, it's the feel of cool calloused hands on his too hot skin, the flickering of a familiar ocean gaze in and out of his vision. The gentle tickle of long hair on his collarbone. And Lucas knows that he's been cursed, understands completely what Sophia meant when she called for a merciless fate.

Because Lucas will have to lose this a thousand times.

He will have to lose Maya a thousand times.

And the white hot pain consuming Lucas' body seems to seep into his vision, the blinding light enveloping his field of sight completely with just white, white, white, and the feeling of Maya's hands, the tickle of her hair. And as the brightness overcomes him, he can hear incomprehensible words whispered in his ear, in a voice he would recognize anywhere, in any universe, in any life.

They were supposed to finally be together.

And they will be.

In this world and the next.