Darker than Blanc

6:18 | Harper ✦ at peace

A woman, with flowing locks of wheat hair was slowly approaching, holding a small bouquet of flowers.

They awkwardly stared at each other when she stopped on the unmarked gravestone.

"Uhm... Harriett's knight.."

"It's Harper Cagan," He introduced. He scanned the woman. If she is who he thinks she is....

I met her too late , Thomas said in a monotone, before smiling slightly, almost fondly. She's a pretty little thing... but so fragile.

She looked up to hold his gaze, his form reflected in her bottle green eyes. Thomas was right when he called her fragile-looking, but perhaps maybe this woman who was like a glass doll was more tenacious than Thomas ever gave her credit for.

Now he remembers where he saw her before. She was the only one left unscathed, but unconscious after Thanasima and even Lucas Marshall raided the Western Temple.

"I'm Ruthanne Beauregard... A dear friend of Harriet's." She introduced, while looking away. A pretty little thing indeed, she can't even lie straight to his face, so she told a half truth.

"You won't find the saint's grave here priestess," He informed her, of something she undoubtedly already knows too. "Rest assured.... I am also... a friend of Thomas... although— what took you so long to visit him?" He remarked off-handedly, only to see the denial and turmoil in her expression.

Ah.

She was probably still coming to terms with his death. He felt that too, when the scars were gone, only the words remain. When your soulmate dies, only memories remain. And an insurmountable pain.

I don't know what would happen if I do.

He was reminded of the last time he spoke to Thomas.

Don't you dare kill him.

......

"When we were younger, he tried to reach out to you, you know?" Harper used to watch in horror as Thomas carved his own name in his arm, in a way that maybe it would reflect on his soulmate. He would try it again when it healed, and check his own arm again for a response.

A response that never came.

Until suddenly, one day Thomas stopped.

They lived a hard life, as slaves from Anamniseis, a country that was a recent addition to Adrimore. They both dreamt of getting out of the muck, only Thomas strayed from their original path.

"I tried to reach out to him as well," She stared at her thin arm, with only his words burned. "I badly wanted to meet him. Every time a scar reflects on my skin, my heart breaks for him. How.... he might be suffering alone. Harriet stopped me before I ...." She took out a small dagger from her pocket, staring at it forlornly.

Right. Intentional scars do not reflect on your soulmate.

"...... Thomas, probably cared about you enough not to involve you in this," Harper said. Leave it to Thomas to just die, and never explain to his soulmate. Ruthanne seemed to be a girl that was too kind, and a bit naive. So so different from the frosty and cynical Thomas. "If people knew about you.. then they wouldn't hesitate to return the favor."

Her eyes widened in horror at his implication. Then understanding.

Thanasima killed the soulmates of his enemies. Then for sure ..... his enemies would kill her if they found out that she was his soulmate.

"....... Harriet loved you too," She said, after a short while. "It's just sad that you had to hear it from me though. She always blew my ears off gushing about you." Ruthanne smiled sadly.

"This is the cross we bear as the survivors."

She nodded numbly, staring off into the setting sun. "I hope, wherever he is .... he is finally at peace."

"You'll meet him again." Harper assured her, even if they were just empty words. "If a next life exists."

"I thought about that too. I wonder how many lives have we lived... only to pass each other by." She traced the words on her arm. "But I would always love to meet him again. You too Sir Cagan, I'm sure Harriet would also love to meet you too."

Harper could only sigh.

Perhaps this curse that looped them around six times over would finally end... on their seventh life.

Thomas, his dear friend in this life.... and also the reason why they're always interconnected in all their lives.

The faerie's curse burned for several lifetimes now. It's bizarre that he's sitting next to the witch of Mystic Forest... ah no, that was Rosephayne. Thomas and him, their fates were connected to cancel the other out. He died trying to kill the vengeful fae Thorin, then the God Theseus who wanted to burn the world and the siren Solis who controlled the Adrina Sea. The last, and most memorable would be Emperor Lobelia, this guy he hated with a burning passion.

Fuck and in all those lives that fucker managed to kill Hildegard... Harriet first before he dies!

The memories just came back to him, a little while after Thomas died. And he's the only one who remembers. His soulmate never did, and Ruthanne also seemed clueless as well. It seemed moot to hate a dead man now, and he could only hope that the seventh life would be kinder to all of them.

He hopes Thomas gets his shit together in the next life.

6//End //