Memories (Lilith x Reader) *DISCONTINUED*

Aftermath (Teen Y/N)

Your eyes blink open, taking in your semi-familiar surroundings. It takes you a minute to remember where you are, but when you do, you smile softly. Light streams in from the half open window, framing Lilith as you roll over and see her still sleeping in the chair beside the bed. You reach out, preparing to shake her softly awake, but then think better of it. She deserves to rest after all that happened yesterday. You slide out of the blankets, careful not to make too much noise, and go downstairs. The absence of Eda from the dining room table makes your heart hurt again, so you try not to look as you step into the kitchen.
     You're surprised to see it empty, but then you realize that Gwendolyn must have left for work by now. Mrs. Clawthorne always insisted that you call her by her first name, so you did even when she wasn't around. Using a small red orange spell circle, you summon a flame to heat the stove. Making Lilith breakfast is the least you can do to make up for her taking you home last night, and little did you know that this would become a habit much later on in both of your lives. You pull open the fridge, expecting it to be full, and are surprised when all you see is a half-full carton of eggs and a jug of milk. Weird, but nevertheless you can work with it. You had made omelettes a few times before when mother wasn't home to make you breakfast and had forgotten to replenish the bread.
     When the stove is sufficiently heated, you pull out a pan and three eggs from the carton. Crack! Crack! Crack! Soon all three eggs are sizzling away, and you pour in a little bit of the milk to keep the texture good. You whisk and whisk, adding in a few other witchy ingredients you find in the cupboards, until the omelette is fully cooked. Just as you're sliding the omelette from pan to plate, you hear a set of footsteps coming down the stairs. Wanting to surprise Lilith with a full breakfast and not just a half nice omelette, you quickly top it with some parsley and other greens before grabbing the jug of milk and pouring two glasses. The footsteps are getting closer now, so you magically summon some apples from your house and slice them as fast as possible, before organizing them on the plate to look as nice as you can make them look. Just as you slide the final apple slice into place, you see a shock of orange hair at the bottom of the stairs.
     Wait, orange hair? You blink and rub your eyes, but when you open them again she's still there in all her barely awake glory. There, at the bottom of the stairs, staring directly at you, is Eda. She yawns as though nothing is wrong, and walks into the kitchen.
     "Did you make an omelette?" she asks. You just stare in disbelief, you had thought that Eda was gone, completely gone, transformed into this weird owl monster that ran away never to come back again. Eda notices you gaping and smiles that sideways mischievous smile of hers to try and let you know that she's ok. Hopping onto a counter stool, she reaches for the omelette. You start to pull it away but then decide not to. While Lilith deserved it as a repayment for last night, Eda also deserved something nice after what looked like an incredibly painful transformation. Sighing, you watch Eda dig into the omelette you worked so hard to prepare for Lilith. There was no way you were going to get another one done before she woke up, but you still wanted to do something nice. As you keep reminding yourself, if was the least you could do for her after she brought you back to her house and let you sleep there.
     Oh Titan, mother will be furious with you for not coming home. But who cares, honestly, you'll deal with mother later. For now, all of your focus is on trying to figure out how Eda is here and normal and eating your omelette. She catches your gaze again, in the middle of a big bite, and you almost have to laugh. Seeing her here, you forget that the three of you will soon be split apart for good. It feels just like old times, and suddenly you don't want to let that go. Not for anything in the world. You're shaken from your thoughts by another pair of footsteps descending the stairs, and you instantly perk up at the thought of seeing Lilith. Even though your omelette was sort of ruined by Eda, you still want to do something for her. You're just not sure what.
     As she walks into the room, Lilith gasps and runs for Eda, tears beginning to run down her cheeks.
     "I-I- oh thank Titan you came back! I'm so, so sorry" Lilith cries, fumbling out unintelligible apologies. You smile softly at this show of affection for Eda, and start imagining if it were you instead, tucked inside the warm arms of LIlith's embrace. You blink. What had you just been thinking? You realized last night that you liked Lilith, but fantasizing was taking it a bit too far. Besides, Eda needed your attention right now, especially after yesterday's events. Eda pulls away from Lilith, slightly uncomfortable and more than a little embarrassed.
     "Relax, sis. It's not like the weird transformation was your fault. We hadn't even started hurling spells yet!" Eda's reassurances calm Lilith down enough to the point where she stops crying, but you notice that she shifts a little uncomfortably when the blame is brought up. It's like... she knows how it happened. You brush that thought out of your head quickly, because a different idea starts to form. You know how you're going to repay Lilith for last night.
     An alarm goes off somewhere inside the house, and Lilith curses. It's time for school. School seems like such a trivial, mundane thing now, but you still have to go. Especially because if you don't keep your grades up until graduation, the Emperor's Coven could kick you out before you even get a chance to be in it. Sighing, you grab your bookbag from where Lilith left it, leaning on the side of the bed you slept in last night. After a quick contents check, you summon your staff and walk out the front door, hopping on as soon as you've cleared the doorway. Fifteen minutes later, you disembark in the front doorway of Hexside.
     People stare at you as you land, and at Lilith when she lands a few minutes later, but what makes people stare the most is Eda, alive, well, and fully herself, climbing off the back of Lilith's staff. Whispers erupt before her feet even touch the ground, but Eda takes it all in stride, walking through the front door like nothing even happened. She's met by her friends in the detention track, and they immediately circle around her. But this circle isn't full of concern or pity, they treat Eda just like they did before. And you can see, even from afar, that it makes Eda happier than any kind words or condolences have.
     Pulling your eyes away from Eda and her friends, you turn to LIlith, but just as you are about to ask her to follow you, the bell screams and the two of you rush to class. The first half of the school day is just a whir of congratulations and condolences, and you feel like the whole time you're on autopilot. Go to class, take notes, raise your hand, answer questions, get praised even if you get it wrong. Because now, you're a part of the Emperor's Coven, and it's common knowledge that they can do no wrong. It's a good thing, too, since you're so out of it that you haven't absorbed any of the information presented to you so far today. You only even realize class is over when Lilith comes up to you and shakes you out of your stupor. Literally, she grabs you by the shoulders and shakes you. It feels nice, her hands gripping you send warmth throughout your body.
     "Y/N, are you alright? You seem so out of it today" Lilith notes as you stand up. You nod, not feeling like talking yet, and beckon for her to follow you. You have about fifteen minutes until the next class period, and you don't want to miss your chance to talk to her alone. Walking out the front of school, Lilith realizes where you're taking her: her old sad spot, now better known as the place where the three of you spend most of your in-school free time. You can tell that she's confused, but you walk so fast that she doesn't have time to ask questions. By the time you get there, both of you are a little out of breath.
     You start to talk, but before you can, Lilith interrupts.
     "I have something to tell you" she says, sounding both resigned and guilty, "And before you interject saying that you have something to tell me too, just let me go first. This could change the course of our relationship." Lilith hesitates for a moment after saying that, looking away in slight embarrassment. This is it, you realize, she's going to confess to you before you can confess to her. You're a little mad that she beat you to it, but it doesn't matter to you as long as you get to realize the feelings that have slowly built up over the years.
     "I-" you're about to say I love you, or  that you feel the same way, but Lilith beats you to it. Sort of.
     "I cursed Eda!" At the confession, Lilith breaks down in tears.
     "Wait, what?" You stare at Lilith in confusion as she continues to cry. There's no way Lilith could have done that to Eda, it has to just be survivor's guilt or something like that. You hug Lilith, stroking her hair and insisting that it isn't her fault, but that just makes her cry harder as she tries to choke out an explanation. You shush her, telling her that she needs to calm down before trying to explain anything. It's no rush though, so you continue sitting there holding her even after the bell screams. People may notice if you're late for class, but they certainly won't do anything about it.
     After a while, Lilith's sobs subside, and the two of you sit there in silence. Just like last night, except now you're comforting Lilith. An even better repayment than you could have thought up on your own.
     "It's true, you know." You blink, confused, because Lilith stayed so still that you're not even sure if you imagined her saying that. Just as you've convinced yourself that you're hearing things, she speaks up again. "I cursed Eda, and I needed to tell someone or else I would have exploded." After this, the words come spilling out of Lilith like they've been filling her head to the brim and just now overflowed. She tells you of feeling inadequate, overshadowed by her prodigy sister; of worrying that even though she was two years younger, Eda would beat her in the duel. She needed to be someone so that her family would recognize her accomplishments for once.
     You stare in shock as all this comes tumbling out of Lilith, one confession after the other. You've barely had time to register the trauma when Lilith mentions going to the night market, in search of a spell to take away Eda's powers. You hear the tremble in her voice as she says it was only intended to be for a day, but now she's not sure how long it will last.
     "Emperor Belos always said that 'To be great, you have to make sacrifices'," Lilith finishes, "But now I'm not sure if I was meant to sacrifice my sister for my career or my career for my sister. I made my choice, but I have no way of knowing if it was the right one." At this, Lilith breaks down in tears again. You know you should be appalled by her actions, but you can't find it in you to hate her. Even after what she's done, you still know deep down you have feelings for her, and you find that instead of diminished, they've grown. Lilith trusts you enough to show you this raw, vulnerable side of herself, and all it does is make you like her more.
     You take Lilith's hand and interlace your fingers, symbolically saying that you'll never let her go. She leans her head on your shoulder, and you lean your head on top of hers. So much is going on in her head that as much as you want to tell her you love her right now, she needs a sense of stability. She needs her constant, her rock, her one piece of driftwood keeping her afloat in a sea of overwhelming emotions. She needs you. And you're always going to be there for her, even if it means putting aside your emotions for a little longer.

Sorry for the chapter delay, I was gone for a week and generally just lacked motivation. It took me about a month to write only 10% of this chapter, and then I wrote the other 90% in the past three days because my motivation finally came back. Expect the next chapter update soon!
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